


Fortune favours the bold

by KaskardenFluvia



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood and Injury, Canon Compliant up to 4x15, Canon-Typical Violence, Edward Nygma POV, Enemies to Lovers, First Kiss, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, I had to write this, Lee Thompkins POV, M/M, Major Character Injury, Oswald Cobblepot POV, POV Alternating, POV Third Person, Parent-Child Relationship, The pier, Violence, if the gotham writers don't give me what I want I'll write it myself, mentions of injury, se04ep15, you know the one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-04-21 03:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14275896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaskardenFluvia/pseuds/KaskardenFluvia
Summary: He had expected anything, a confession or a deal maybe, but not an apology.------------------------------------------------Oswald saved Ed from being shot at the pier, but that doesn't mean that all is well.Ed has been tortured and they are technically fugitives now.Not the best time to realise you're in love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I watched all episodes of Gotham in like 10 days and this is what happened after I had watched 4x15.
> 
> Enjoy.

"I have a strong desire to never, ever see this pier again.”, Ed said and looked over at Oswald.

  
“I agree.”, he said enthusiastically and Ed smiled.

  
Still, none of them moved. Ed glanced down at the water and for a second he saw the water darkening with blood and a pale hand, slowly disappearing into the darkness. He turned his head to look at the man standing next to him, still not entirely convinced that he was real, that he was not a drug-induced hallucination.  
He wondered if Oswald had similar thoughts, if remembered sinking to the bottom of the river. If he remembered Ed’s face as he had pushed him into the ice-cold water beneath them. He wasn’t sure if he wanted him to.

  
“Oswald.”, he said and shifted, just as Oswald said: “Ed.” They chuckled and a moment of awkward silence followed.

  
“You first.”, Ed finally said and gestured towards the other, who pursed his lips and looked towards the water, before fixing his eyes on Ed again.

  
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”, Oswald began, his voice shaking. He glanced down at his feet and took a deep breath before looking at Ed again.  
“For everything.”, he continued quietly. “For what I did to Isabella. For what I did to you. I was selfish where I shouldn’t have been. I was angry at you for I mistake I had made, and I let it out on her. At the time I thought it was out of love, but- “, he interrupted himself, taking another shaky breath.  
“But I’ve come to realise that I wanted to hurt you because I felt like you rejected me, even though I never even gave you the chance to do that.”

  
He shut his mouth again and Ed was to startled to answer, so he just stared at Oswald’s pale face. He had expected anything, a confession or a deal maybe, but not an apology.

  
“Oswald.”, he croaked, but he held is hand up. Apparently he wasn’t finished yet.

  
“I’m not asking for forgiveness. I know that it’s far too late for that. If you don’t want to accept my apology, if you want to go, that’s fine. I just wanted you to know that I regret what I did.”  
His voice broke and he started up at him with anxious eyes and Ed could see that he was holding back tears.

  
“Oh, Oswald.”, he breathed and lifted his arm to his face. Oswald flinched back, like he was expecting a slap, but he didn’t stop Ed’s hand from touching his face. It was cold beneath his fingers and he gently wiped away the tears that had started spilling from Oswald’s pale blue eyes.

  
Ed thought about how easy it would be to choke him right now, to watch the light disappear from those beautiful eyes, whose colour was so similar to that of the water splashing against the pier. He remembered how Oswald’s eyes had looked after he had shot him, the lights gone, his face frozen in shock and he realised that it wasn’t what he wanted. That he hadn’t wanted that for a long time now. Probably not since he had to watch him fall into the water beneath them all those months ago. He remembered the instant regret after he pulled the trigger and the guilt he felt when, instead of pulling Oswald back towards him, towards safety, he had pushed him into the dark waters.

  
He didn’t hate Oswald anymore. He probably never did.

  
Carefully he lifted his other hand to Oswald’s face too. He could feel him tensing beneath his fingers and his own heart hammering in his chest, sending a pulse of pain through his mouth with every beat. He didn’t care.

  
_Fortune favours the bold._

  
Oswald’s words, uttered at this very pier, coursed through his mind as he leaned forward and kissed him. He didn’t respond and Ed was just about to break them apart again when he felt an arm slip around his waist and a hand burying itself in his hair, pulling him closer, keeping him from breaking away.

  
He felt his glasses being pushed up, the pain in his gums and his leg, which was slowly starting to give in, but right now he couldn’t care less about any of these things.  
Finally, for the first time since he shot Oswald, or maybe even for the first time in forever, he felt complete. He felt like he belonged here, in this exact moment. It didn’t matter that he could taste his own blood in his mouth and the he felt fresh blood pouring out of the stab wound in his leg. All that mattered was that he was finally here, with Oswald’s arms wrapped around him, clinging to him like he was intent on never letting him go again. Ed didn’t mind, not when he felt like drowning himself and Oswald was the only thing that kept him stay afloat.

  
After what felt like a far too short time, Oswald broke the kiss apart, gasping for air. Ed loosened his grip on him, so he could get a better look at his face. There was blood smudged all around his mouth, his eyes rimmed by dark rings and his black hair was sticking up in every direction.  
Ed had never seen someone more beautiful.

  
“I forgive you, Oswald.”, he murmured and tried to wipe away some of the blood.

  
“Why?”, Oswald asked, his eyes wide open, wandering around like they were trying to find the answer in Ed’s face.

  
“I can’t be bought, but I can be stolen with a glance. I’m worthless to one, but priceless to two. What am I?”, he whispered. Words he had spoken before, in what now felt like a different life, even though they still held the same meaning.

  
“Love.”, Oswald answered, his eyes lighting up. Ed had never seen him this happy. It made him look younger, less worn-out, less hopeless.

  
He wanted to say so much more, his mouth already opening, but the pain and exhaustion finally settle in. Whatever had kept him going until this moment, if it had been the shock or adrenaline, suddenly it was gone. His vision went black for a split second and his legs gave in. The only thing that kept him from falling to his knees was Oswald, who caught him and pulled him back to his feet.

  
“Ed!”, he shouted, panic creeping into his voice. He tried to get a better hold of him and Ed helped as best as he could. He slung one of his arms around Oswald’s shoulders, leaning on him for support.

  
“You need to get some rest.”, Oswald stated, obviously concerned.

  
He moved towards the car parked at the end of the pier and Ed willed his feet to move, every step causing a wave of pain that almost made him black out.  
The car couldn’t have been more than a few metres away, but it felt like running a marathon. He slumped into the seat as soon as Oswald opened the door and Oswald had to shove his feet inside as Ed could no longer move them. His vision was blurry and he could barely see, even though his glasses were still sitting on his face.  
The door on the other side of the car opened and Oswald slid into the driver’s seat. Ed slightly turned his head to look at him, black creeping in from the corners of his eyes.

  
The last thing he saw was Oswald fumbling with the keys and shooting him a concerned glance, before the whole world vanished into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thank you for all the kind words on the first chapter, I honestly did not think people would like this as much as you guys did.

Oswald had to shake Ed awake after pulling into the driveway of the mansion. His brown eyes fluttered open, unfocused. He was pale, a stark contrast to the dried blood on his face, seeping down his neck and into the collar of his white shirt.

“Come on, you need to get out of the car.”, Oswald pleaded. He knew he couldn’t carry Ed, not with his bad leg, so if he wanted to get him inside he needed the other man’s help. He reached down and Ed slung his arms around his neck and Oswald looped his arms around his hip. He groaned with effort as he pulled his friend onto his feet.

Carefully, he reached out behind Ed and closed the car doo with a push. Then he turned, one arm still slung around Ed’s waist, trying to keep him steady and on his feet.

“I can’t carry you, you need to move.”, he whispered and nudged Ed forward a bit. “One foot in front of the other.”, he added when Ed didn’t react. Slowly they started to make their way to the front door.

It was agonizing. Oswald had to almost drag Ed up the gravel path leading to the front of the house. It would have been hard on a good day but being frozen alive had taken its toll on Oswald, his leg was hurting even more than usual ad he was exhausted. He stumbled and they almost went down, but luckily he was able to catch himself before he completely lost his balance. He took a deep breath, silently praying to whoever was listening to not let them fall. He was certain that he would not be able to get Ed back on his feet again. The man next to him was struggling with every little step he made and barely managed to even lift his feet.

When they finally reached the front door Oswald was breathing heavily, and Ed swayed like he was about to lose his balance. Oswald let out a small, relieved sigh and reached for his pocket, only to realise that he didn’t have his keys on him. They were still at Arkham, safely tucked away in his suit pocket, which in turn safely packed into a plastic bag and put into a locker in the basement. Frantically he searched the pockets of the stolen coat for anything that could help him pick the lock.

When he finally found a hairpin underneath the crumbled papers, crumbs and all the other useless pieces of trash he let go of Ed’s waist, hoping that he was steady enough to stand mostly on his own.

“No keys?”, he mumbled next to Oswald’s ear. He didn’t look up and stuck the hairpin into the lock.

“Still at Arkham. Never thought I would have to pick my own door.”, he grumbled, rattling the hairpin around. He had never been good at picking locks, he wasn’t patient enough and didn’t have the needed skill. He usually let others do the lock picking or simply shot the door open. But Ed was in no state to pick a lock and he didn’t have a gun on his hands.

Ed let out a shaky laugh at his comment and something finally clicked inside the lock and Oswald pulled the door open. He made a mental note to replace the locks, they had been surprisingly easy to pick, even for someone as unskilled as him. Ed probably could have picked them in a matter of seconds. It was not the most comforting thought, considering that up until a few days ago Ed had still wanted to murder Oswald.

Quickly shoving those thoughts aside, he dragged Ed over the doorstep and shut the door behind him. A quick glance around showed that everything was the same as when he had last left the mansion, albeit everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. He would probably have to hire a new maid, too.

Suddenly, one of Ed’s legs gave in and Oswald groaned as he was pulled down by the weight, Ed clinging to his neck. He steadied himself on the wall and staggered into the living room, dragging Ed with him. He was barely conscious and slumped down onto the couch as soon as Oswald let go of him.

He quickly took off the awful stolen coat, throwing it into a corner of the room and not giving it a second thought. Concerned he kneeled down next to Ed, trying to find out where exactly he was hurt. It wasn’t hard to locate the stab wound in his upper thigh, the bleeding had left a big stain on the green suit. Fresh blood spilled from the wound. It seemed like someone, probably Sofia Falcone or that traitorous “Dentist” had driven a screw driver into Ed’s leg. Whoever it had been, Oswald wished them a slow and painful death.

One look at Ed showed him that he desperately needed a doctor, or someone with more medical knowledge than Oswald. But he couldn’t call in ambulance, not with both him and Ed being fugitives. It didn’t matter that he had been wrongly arrested, his escape from Arkham was a crime in itself.

He needed someone private, someone who wouldn’t betray them to the police.

“Lee!”, he exclaimed the instant the thought had formed in his head.

“Ed.”, he said, shaking him slightly to get his attention. Ed looked at him with clouded eyes.

“Do you have Lee’s number?”, he asked, speaking slowly.

“Phone…”, Ed murmured and gestured towards his pockets. His voice sounded strained. Oswald searched through the pockets as carefully as he could, until he finally found the phone in one of the inner pockets of his green jacket.

He flipped it open and scrolled through the contacts until he found one called “The Doc”. He dialled and listened to dialling tone. Suddenly, the mailbox answered and he hung up the call, only to call again instantly. Again, no one picked up. He tried it a third time.

“Please, just pick up the phone.”, he pleaded quietly, his eyes fixed on Ed. It was obvious that he was on the brink of unconsciousness or worse. Maybe he would need to call an ambulance after all. Being captured again was still better than watching Ed bleed out on his couch.

“Ed?”, Lee asked, finally answering her phone. She sounded worried.

“It’s me.” Oswald said.

“Oswald? Where are you?”, she asked, the concern replaced by anger. “I waited for you, but you didn’t turn up so-“

“Lee, I need your help.”, he interrupted.

“With what?”, she snapped, clearly annoyed by him interrupting her.

“Ed.”, he answered and a small sob escaped his lips. “Lee, I think he’s dying.”

There was silence at the other end of the line, before Lee asked: “What did they do to him?”

“The Dentist tortured him and someone stabbed him in the leg.”, he answered, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

“Is he still bleeding?”, Lee asked. There was a professional calm to her voice, like she had done this before. She probably had.

“Yes.”, he said, his throat tightening.

“Is the blood gushing out?”, she asked.

“No.”, he croaked and he could hear a small sigh from Lee.

“Good, they didn’t cut an artery then.” she answered and Oswald could breathe a little easier again. He knew enough about human anatomy to realise that this was a good sign.

“Okay, you need to apply pressure to the wound, hopefully that will stop the bleeding. Anything will do, but a towel or a dish cloth would probably work best.”, Lee stated.

“Okay, I’ll get something.”, he answered and carefully put the phone on the floor next to the couch.

He scrambled to his feet and limped into the kitchen as fast as he couldn’t. He couldn’t find a dish cloth, but there was an apron hanging next to the door, so he took it and returned to the living room. He kneeled down next to the couch again, rolled the apron tightly and pressed it to the wound. Ed groaned and Oswald gave him an apologetic smile before he reached for the phone again.

“I got something.”, he said.

“Where are you?”, Lee asked, and he could hear a car door opening in the background.

“At the mansion.”, he answered. “The Van Dahl mansion. It’s at the edge of town, near –“

“I know where it is.”, she interrupted. “I’ll be there as fast as I can, but it’ll take me at least thirty minutes.”

Oswald looked at Ed’s pale face, his eyes closed, the rest of his body limp and gulped.

“I don’t know if he has that much time left. I think I should call an ambulance.”, he whispered and could feel hot tears stinging in his eyes.

“The ambulance won’t take less time. Besides that, aren’t you two technically on the run?”, Lee asked. Oswald blinked the tears away. She was right, calling the ambulance would only lead to further trouble.

“Is he still conscious?”, Lee wanted to know. He nudged Ed’s knee and his eyes opened for a moment, before he closed them again immediately. Over the phone he could hear Lee’s car fire up.

“Barely.”, he answered. His voice was trembling.

“Okay, listen to me. He needs to stay awake, Oswald. He cannot fall asleep.”, she ordered. “He has a chance if he stays awake, but I can’t promise anything if he loses consciousness until I’m there.”

“I understand.”, he croaked. “I won’t let him.”

“Good. I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”, Lee answered and hung up the phone. Oswald slipped it into the pocket of his Arkham attire and turned to face Ed again. There was no way he would let him fall asleep. He couldn’t lose him now, not after what had happened at the pier. He was so close to finally finding happiness again and would not let Sofia Falcone take it away from him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this not medically accurate? Probably not.  
> Do I care? Probably not.   
> I hope you still enjoyed this chapter
> 
> As always, I apologise for any mistakes, if you see something just tell me


	3. Chapter 3

Oswald reached out with his free hand and carefully touched Ed’s face. It was unnaturally cold beneath his fingers and all the blood seemed to be drained from it, the skin even paler than Oswald’s own. Ed barely opened his eyes, but it was enough to assure Oswald that he was still awake, that he could still feel his touch.

“You need to stay awake.”, he whispered and Ed nodded slowly.

“I’ll try.”, he drawled, like he was drunk. Oswald nodded and then lifted the apron a bit to check if the bleeding had already stopped. It hadn’t completely, but there was definitely less blood coming out of the puncture than before. He pressed the cloth down again, secretly relieved when Ed winced. It meant that he could still feel the pain, which meant that he was staying conscious.

They sat in silence for a while, the only sound Ed’s laboured breathing, accompanied by Oswald’s own and the ticking of the clock on the wall. He checked the bleeding again, glad to see that there was no more blood spilling from the wound. He took off some of the pressure but held the apron in place, just in case it started bleeding again.

He turned his head and smiled ad Ed, who was visibly straining to keep his eyes open.

“Oswald.”, he murmured and blinked at him slowly.

“I’m here.”, Oswald said and leaned in closer, so it was easier to understand what Ed was saying.

“I’m sorry.”, he whispered and Oswald raised his eyebrows. He couldn’t think of a single thing he could be sorry about. Ed started speaking again before he could ask him.

“I love you.”, he said, his voice shaky but sincere. “I’m sorry I that I realised it so late. Too late.”

Oswald felt his stomach twist and the tears dwelling in his eyes. He angrily blinked them away, he needed to stay calm. It would benefit no one if he freaked out now.

“Don’t say that.”, he answered. “Lee is going to be here soon, you’ll be fine.”

“I just wanted you to know, in case I-“ Ed continued, unfazed by Oswald’s words but he interrupted him, gently pressing a finger to his bloody lips.

“ _Don’t say that._ You will be fine. I promise, you will be fine. I will not let you die. _I love you_. Everything will be fine.”, Oswald said, unsure who exactly he was trying to convince. He raised his finger from Ed’s lips and carefully tried to wipe away some of the dried blood. He had to stop a sob from escaping his lips. Despite everything he had just said he was still scared that he might lose Ed.

“You will be fine. Just stay awake.”, he repeated. Ed stared at him for a moment, before nodding ever so slightly.

“Okay.”, he said, closing his eyes and leaning back on the pillows. Oswald watched him with concern, afraid that he might fall asleep. A minute passed, the steady ticking of the clock unusually loud in Oswald’s ears. When Ed didn’t open his eyes again he shook him slightly.

“Come on, Ed, you need to stay _awake._ ”, he pleaded and Ed’s brown eyes opened again. He reached out with a trembling hand and gently stroked Oswald’s face.

“Come here.”, he muttered, nudging him towards his chest. Oswald was confused but he still placed his head on Ed’s chest, feeling his slender fingers burying themselves in his hair. He could hear Ed’s racing heart, beating even faster than his own. It concerned him, but he would rather have Ed’s heart racing than to stop.

“Tell me about Martin. I need you to keep me awaking.”, Ed said, stroking his hair.

“I met him at Sofia’s orphanage.”, Oswald began, clenching his fist at the thought of the woman. Not only had she used for her petty revenge on Jim Gordon, she had also tried to take everything away from him. She had tried to use Martin as a spy, abducted the boy _twice_ , destroyed his empire, gave his club to Barbara Kean and had tortured Ed. Death was too good for her.

“Oswald?”, Ed asked and he realised that he had gone silent after just one sentence.

“She tried to manipulate me or to use him as a spy, hoping that I would trust him because he’s only a kid. I don’t think she considered that we might actually become _friends_. When she realised she tried to use him as bait, she wanted me to start a war with her, so she could-“

“I asked about _Martin_ not _Sofia._ ” Ed interrupted him, audibly amused. Oswald sighed. It was hard to stop himself from ranting on.

“Why did you become friends?”, Ed asked.

“I… I don’t know.”, he answered truthfully. “I never asked myself that question. We just kind of did.”

He stayed silent for a while, thinking about how he met Martin, and how they started developing their friendship. He started talking again.

“He tried to set some bullies’ bags on fire and I taught him a more”, he paused for a second to think about the right word, “subtle way of revenge. And then I just grew fond of him. He is incredibly smart and it was nice talking to someone without having to fear them stabbing you in the back as soon as you turn around. It was nice to have someone around who wasn’t secretly trying to murder me.”

“Sorry about that.”, Ed murmured. Oswald lifted his head slightly to look at him. Ed was smiling, peering down at him through his eyelashes.

“But I don’t think I _really_ wanted to.”, he said and Oswald’s eyes widened. He sat up straight again.

“What do you mean?”, he asked. Ed was about to answer when someone rang the doorbell.

Oswald jumped up, almost falling over his own legs and limped to the door, taking the gun out of the side drawer in the hallway. He peeked through the glass and was relieved to see Lee. She was still wearing the coat he had last seen her in, before he had left her place at the narrows. She was carrying a large handbag with her.

He quickly opened the door. Lee didn’t say anything, just pushed past him.

“He’s in the living room.”, he said and shut the door. Oswald shut the door behind her and quickly followed her, stopping in the open doorway of the living room, unsure if there was any way for him to help or if it was best if he just stayed out of her way entirely.

Lee put down her bag and kneeled down next to the sofa. She took a close look at Ed’s leg, putting on rubber gloves and pulled a pair of scissors out of the bag.

“I’ll try to be gentle, but this might be painful.”, she said and Ed nodded. Lee started methodically cutting the bloody fabric of Ed’s trousers.

He looked up at Oswald and gestured for him to come near. Oswald shot a quick glance at Lee, who looked up from her work, glanced at Ed and then nodded. He walked over and sat down next to her and Ed’s head.

“It’ll be fine.”, he whispered when Ed turned to face him. He gently brushed away some hair that had fallen into his eyes. He could feel Lee’s gaze on him, but she didn’t say anything.

She reached into her bag and took out a bottle of water.

“I need to clean the wound. This _will be_ painful.”, she explained, pouring the water onto a clean cotton pad. A faint smell of disinfectant filled the room.

Lee started wiping at the edges of the wound, the dried blood coming off easily, revealing the puncture. Now that he could see it properly it looked a lot smaller than Oswald had feared.

Lee threw the bloody cotton pad on the floor and took out a new one. She drenched it with water and started to clean the actual wound. Ed groaned and clenched his teeth. Oswald stroked his hair to comfort him.

“What the hell did they even use for this?”, Lee muttered, examining the small, circular puncture. It was maybe a centimetre in diameter, but it looked deep.

“An ice pick”, Ed answered Lee’s question, voice straining.

“What are you going to do?”, Oswald asked. Lee stared at the puncture again and sighed.

“There’s not much I can do about it. I would need to be at the hospital to treat it properly.”, she said. Oswald looked at her, alarmed. She noticed and smiled. It was a tight-lipped smile, but it was still reassuring.

“He will be fine, Oswald. I’ll bandage it properly and as long as there’s no infection it will be okay, it just won’t be as pretty when it heals.”

“No need for it to be pretty.”, Ed said and Lee chuckled. She changed her gloves and cut off the leg of Ed’s already ruined green pants before bandaging the wound with a fresh gauze bandage.

“Now, let me take a look at your teeth.”, she said, changing her gloves again and Oswald stood up so she could take his place next to Ed’s face. He watched as she examined Ed’s mouth, holding it open with one hand. She took out another cotton pad, wiped away some of the blood from his teeth. Her face showed concern.

“They pulled out one of his teeth.”, she told Oswald and he could feel anger bubbling inside him. He wished he had left the Dentist alive, just so that he could give the man a taste of his own medicine. It would have felt so good to pull out his teeth one by one.

“They also drilled his gums as far as I can see.”, Lee added, brining him back to reality. He clenched his fist, trying to contain his anger, even though he felt like he was going to explode.

“I’m not a dentist, so I can’t tell you how bad the damage is.”, she explained and stood up. She gathered the bloody cotton pads and used gloves.

“Where’s the kitchen?”, she asked, interrupting his thoughts of torturing the Dentist, Sofia and everyone else who had dared to lay a hand on Ed. He blinked at her, confused.

“I need to throw this away. And Ed needs some water.”, she answered his unspoken question.

Oswald glanced down at Ed, lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Lee followed his gaze.

“He can stay alone for a few minutes, can’t you Ed?”, she asked and he opened his eyes again. He grinned and gave them a weak thumbs up.

Oswald decided to trust Lee’s judgement and led her into the kitchen. It still surprised him how small the room was, especially for such a large house. Lee threw the bloody pads and gloves into the trash, then took off the gloves she was wearing and threw them away as well. She went over to the sink and washed her hands.

“How bad is he?”, Oswald asked from the doorway, where he had stayed when they came in.

“Better than I thought he would be. The puncture isn’t that big, but he still lost a significant amount of blood. He was lucky that they didn’t puncture the artery, he would have been dead an hour ago, if not sooner.”, she explained and turned off the tap again. She dried her hands on a dish rag and turned towards him.

“He was tortured.”, Oswald growled and Lee crossed her arms.

“Because of you, I suppose.”, she said, raising her eyebrows.

Oswald felt anger rising in him and pressed his lips together to keep himself from screaming at her.

“It’s not my fault that Sofia figured that he might know where I am. Our escape from Arkham was all over the news.”, he defended himself. Lee didn’t say anything.

“What happened to her anyway?”, he asked to change the topic. Lee grinned.

“I shot that bitch like I said I would.”, she answered and his eyes widened.

“She’s dead?”, he asked. Lee rolled her eyes and sighed.

“No. She went into a coma.”, she said.

“This city just won’t let people die.”, Oswald muttered, annoyed.

“Well, you have quite an impressive statistic yourself. How many times were you supposed to die?”, Lee asked and grinned at him again. He didn’t answer her question, pressing his lips together tightly.

“Don’t worry about Sofia.I doubt she’ll ever wake up. And even if she does, it’s unlikely that she’ll become a threat to you again.”, she said. “Where can I find a glass?”

He pointed at one of the cupboards. Lee opened it, took out two glasses and put them on the counter. She took one of the glass carafes standing next to the sink and filled it with tap water, before also filling one of the glasses. Then she picked everything up and walked out of the door.

Oswald followed her and she stopped in front of the living room doorway. Ed was still lying on the couch, looking considerably more relaxed than before.

“I’ll take care of Ed for a moment.”, Lee said, glancing over. “Go take a shower and put some fresh clothes on. You look horrible.”

Oswald looked down at himself. He was still wearing the black and white Arkham suit, which had already been dirty when he got it, but now there were bloodstains on it too. He really wanted to change, but he didn’t want to leave Ed either. Lee noticed his hesitancy and smiled her tight-lipped smile again.

“He will survive for half an hour without you, Oswald.”, she said, her voice surprisingly soft. He sighed and nodded. He really needed a hot shower and it would be nice to wear something clean again.

Slowly, he walked towards the stairs but stopped in front of the first step. He turned back around again.

“Lee?”, he called and she faced him. She raised an eyebrow.

“Thank you.”, he said and she tilted her head slightly. She glanced into the living room before she turned towards him again.

“I’m not doing it for you.”, she answered and stepped through the doorway.

Oswald hesitated for another moment, before he made his way up the stairs to finally take that shower.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this chapter as long as the first two combined? Almost 
> 
> I hope you like this chapter because I had a lot of fun writing it and as always, if you notice any mistakes tell me


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and comments, you honestly make my day

 Ed’s head was throbbing with pain when he woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times until he could see more than dark, hazy silhouettes, but everything stayed blurry. He raised a hand to his face and realised that someone had taken his glasses off of him.

He looked around and saw someone sitting in a chair next to the foot of the couch. He squinted and recognised Lee who was holding a book and appeared to be reading.

“Lee?”, he said and winced when a sharp pain went through his jaw. He tried locating the source of the pain with his tongue, but as soon as he touched his gums another wave of pain went through them. Something must have happened to his jaw.

Lee looked up at him and, as far as he could tell without his glasses, smiled at him.

“You’re awake.”, she stated and closed her book, before putting it onto the floor next to her.

“What the hell happened?”, he asked, trying to keep his mouth as shut as he could.

“They pulled out one of your teeth.”, she told him, apologetically. Ed shut his eyes. He remembered now. The Dentist. Sofia Falcone. The pier. Oswald.

“Oswald.”, he whispered as soon as the thought went through his head. He looked around, trying to find the other man.

Oswald was kneeling next to the couch, his head resting on the armrest behind Ed. It didn’t look particularly comfortable, but he was fast asleep, his dark hair falling over his eyes.

“How long has he been asleep like this?”, he asked, concern rising in him. The position would make Oswald’s already bad back even worse.

“About an hour or so.”, Lee answered, stepping closer. He shifted his weight, so he could sit up a bit better. “I told him to go to bed, but he wouldn’t leave your side.” She shrugged and handed him his glasses. He put them on, glad to finally see things clearly again. He turned towards Oswald again.

He smiled and reached out to brush the hair from his eyes. Oswald opened his eyes and blinked a few times, obviously confused. Suddenly, a smile spread over his face.

“You’re awake.”, he exclaimed and lifted his head off the armrest. He sat up and stretched out his back, a pained expression on his face.

“How long have I been out?”, Ed asked. Oswald glanced at the old clock on the wall and then looked at Lee.

“About four hours?”, he answered. Lee nodded and sat down in her chair again after pulling it a bit closer.

“Sounds about right. I arrived at 8 and now it’s about 1AM in the morning, so four to five hours.”, she agreed. Ed groaned. It explained why his back hurt so badly.

“How are you feeling?”, Oswald wanted to know, a concerned look on his face.

“My back hurts, I’ve got one hell of a headache and I can’t really talk but apart from that I’m fine.”, he answered.

“You lost significant amount of blood yesterday, your back is the last thing I would worry about if I were you.”, Lee said and chuckled. He rolled his eyes at her comment and then proceeded to move himself into a sitting position.

“Uhh”, both Lee and Oswald said and Lee leaned forward, her hands reaching for his shoulders. Oswald stood up.

“What do you think you’re doing?”, she asked. Ed raised an eyebrow.

“I’m going to bed.”, he answered. “There are seven bedrooms upstairs, I don’t need to stay on the living room couch the whole night.” Lee crossed her arms, frowning.

“Did you listen to anything I _just_ said? You’ve been _stabbed._ You lost a _significant_ amount of blood.”, she explained again.

“I still don’t see why that requires me to stay on the couch.”, he said and pushed himself up.

Immediately, the world tilted to the side. His thigh felt like it was ripping apart and he could feel his knees giving in. His vision also went blurry again. It felt like when he stood up to fast in the morning, only that this was ten times worse.

“Oh dear.”, he murmured and stumbled forward. Lee pushed herself out of her chair and Oswald dived forward, both of them catching him before he could fall to the floor. Oswald slung his arm around his waist and Lee held him up by the shoulders. She was grinning.

“Don’t say anything.”, he pressed through his clenched teeth and she chuckled.

“We might as well get you upstairs now that you’re already up.”, she said and moved to stand beside him. He laid an arm around her shoulder and the other around Oswald’s, using both of them as support.

They made their way to the stairway and Ed remembered Oswald dragging him through the hallways earlier. He couldn’t even imagine how exhausting it must have been for him, he was already struggling with his leg now and he had Lee’s help. They stopped in front of the stairway. It wasn’t wide enough for all three of them, so Ed let go of Oswald and reached for the railing instead.

“Thank you.”, Oswald whispered, so quietly that only Ed could hear him. He shot him a quick smile before making his way up the stairs. His leg hurt with every step, but with Lee and the railing as support he got up without falling over. Oswald followed them closely, one hand on Ed’s back to keep him steady. 

When they finally reached the top of the stairway Ed let go of the railing and steadied himself on the wall, before Oswald led them into the nearest bedroom. Coincidentally, it was the one Ed had used when he was still living at the mansion. The room still looked the same, the walls coloured a subtle light green and the matching bed sheets and curtains a darker shade of green. The only things missing from the room were his books on the nightstand. The closet doors also stood open, revealing the empty shelves inside.

He sat down on the bed, grateful to finally rest his leg again. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temples, gently rubbing them. His head was swimming in pain. When he opened his eyes again he saw Oswald limping into the bathroom. The tap was turned on and he heard a cupboard open and close and moments later Oswald returned, a glass of water in his hand, the tablet of Paracetamol already dissolving. He passed it to Ed who took it and downed most of it without hesitation.

“Thank you, Oswald.”, he said and wiped his mouth. He looked down and realised with shock that one of his pant’s legs was missing. There was a white bandage around his thigh.

“What the hell happened to my pants?”, he asked, more confused about the fact that he only noticed it now than about the missing fabric itself.

Lee broke out into laughter.

“I was wondering when you would notice.”, she managed to choke out. “I had to cut it of to treat your leg.”

Ed stared at his exposed knee and shook his head slightly. He sighed, still dismayed that he hadn’t noticed it when he woke up.

“You need fresh clothes.”, Oswald suddenly blurted out. He had been unusually quiet the whole time and didn’t look at Ed before he hurried out of the room. Ed stared at the empty doorway before turning towards Lee, who was barely containing her laughter.

“What’s so funny?”, he asked. She grinned.

“He still loves you, you realise that. After everything you’ve done, he _still_ loves you.”, she answered, a mix of confusion and amazement in her voice.

Ed closed his eyes, his cheeks heating up.

“Yes, I know that.”, he whispered and looked up at her again. “And I love him too.” He was actually blushing now. He sipped the rest of his water and avoided meeting Lee’s eyes.

“So, you finally admit it then?”, she asked and he nearly choked on his water.

“What do you mean?”, he coughed, wiping spit from his chin.

“Oh come on Ed. I might not be as smart as you,”, she said, clearly amused, “But I’m not blind. I’ve seen you two together. You were practically joined at the hip when Penguin was mayor. It was so obvious that the papers could hardly call it gossip.”

Ed stared at the wall behind her. It was embarrassing that everyone had realised that Oswald was in love with him before he did. And it embarrassed him even more that everyone realised that _he_ was in love with Oswald before had realised it himself.

“You know, I’m surprised no one ever caught you two making out on camera.”, she said laughing and he snapped his head towards her.

“We _never_ made out!”, he exclaimed, his cheeks burning with heat.

Lee started laughing ever harder.

“No, but your reaction tells me that you wanted to.”, she said after she had finally calmed down again.

Ed was about to defend himself when Oswald entered the room again, holding a small bundle of clothes. He gave it to Ed.

“I found this sweater, you must have left it behind when you…”, he faltered, “When you moved out.” Ed looked down at the green piece of clothing.

“I didn’t have any pants your size, so I gave you the baggiest pair of sweatpants I own.”, Oswald continued.

“I’m surprised you even own sweatpants.”, Lee remarked and he pursed his lips.

“Thank you, Oswald.” Ed said before Oswald could start bickering. He turned towards Ed and smiled. He smiled back and they stared at each other for a moment, before Oswald cleared his throat.

“I think I should get changed too.”, he stated and hurried out of the door for the second time in five minutes. He slammed the door shut behind him.

Lee raised an eyebrow and grinned, but Ed rolled his eyes, trying to ignore her. He took off his suit jacket, throwing the jacket on the floor without a second thought. The blood had ruined it anyways.

“You need help?”, Lee asked and he shook his head.

“I can take off my clothes by myself, thank you.”, he said, clenching his teeth.

“Sure.”, Lee said, her tone mocking.

Taking off the shirt was easy enough, but even though he really could have used some help with what was left of his pants, he was too proud to ask Lee for help.

When he finally managed to get the sweatpants, he was surprised to see how short they actually were. His ankle and the lower parts of his shin.

“I never realised how small Oswald really is.”, he murmured. Lee laughed.

There was a knock on the door and Oswald entered the room again. He was wearing an oversized knitted sweater and chequered pyjama bottoms.

“A penguin? Really?”, Lee mocked when she saw the motive on the sweater.

“I didn’t buy this.”, Oswald snapped defensively. “Ivy got it for me. She actually knitted it herself.”

“It suits you.”, Ed said and Oswald smiled thankfully, his cheeks turning red.

Lee looked back and forth between them and sighed.

“I think I should get going.”, she said.

“You can stay if you want to. Ed was right, there are more than enough bedrooms.”, Oswald answered quickly.

“No, I need to get back to the Narrows. I have a club to run, you know?”, she answered. She turned towards Ed.

“Check the bandage tomorrow. If there’s any sign of infection at all, call me.”, she ordered. “And go see a dentist.”

“Thank you, Lee. For everything.”, Ed said and she shook her head slightly.

“We’re friends.”, she responded. She glanced at Oswald, who stayed silent. “I had to help you.”

“I’ll accompany you to the door.”, Oswald said but Lee raised her hands dismissively.

“No need, I can show myself out. Goodbye Oswald.”, she answered and turned towards Ed again.

 “Good night, Ed.”, she added and winked at them, before she walked past the bed and out of the door, closing it behind her. Oswald followed her with his eyes.

“Good night, Lee.”, Ed called after her, too perplexed by her wink to react sooner.

There was a moment of awkward silence until Oswald cleared his throat again.

“I guess I should go to bed. You need rest.”, he stated and started walking towards the door.

Ed quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him back again. Oswald’s blue eyes widened. He sat down on the bed next to him, his eyes fixed on their joined hands, resting on Ed’s knee.

“Thank you, Oswald.”, Ed said and the other man looked up. “I would have died if it weren’t for you.”

He could see Oswald’s fast breathing.

“I meant what I said at the pier.”, he answered quietly. “I trust you.”

I also meant what I said.”, Ed responded, his heart pounding in his chest. “I love you.”

The world still felt foreign to him, but he also felt like he had never spoken truer words than these three. Oswald smiled happily and Ed leaned forward, closed his eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Oswald’s free hand flew up to his face, gently caressing his cheek.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Ed grabbed the hand cupping his cheek and separated them again. He looked down at their hands and slipped his fingers between Oswald’s, holding on to his hands tightly. He looked up to see Oswald staring at him in amazement, a slight smile tugging at his lips. But there were tears in his eyes.

“Is everything alright?”, Ed asked, concerned he might have made the wrong move.

“Yes.”, Oswald answered, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. “This whole situation is just…insane. If someone had told me that this would happen a week ago, I probably would have killed them for mocking me.”

Ed smiled sadly. He understood very well how Oswald was feeling right now.

“I never wanted to kill you.”, he whispered after a moment of silence, staring down at their linked hands, “I thought I wanted you dead for what you did to Isabella, but I didn’t even care about her anymore once the initial shock about her death and your part in it wore off. I think it was just easier to pretend to hate you than to admit that I was in love with you, even _after_ what you did.”

“Admitting it is always the hardest part about love.”, Oswald agreed and squeezed his hands.

They sat holding hands for a while. Ed’s heart was still pounding in his chest, making his headache worse, despite the painkillers he took earlier. At least his jaw wasn’t throbbing with pain anymore. He felt safe here, with Oswald, knowing that he would do anything to keep him out of harm’s way. The man had given up his revenge, something he had probably planned every day since he got thrown into Arkham, just to save _him._ Once he had accused Oswald of not being able to sacrifice his own happiness for others but today he had proven him wrong. Ed was glad about it.

“I admit it now. I love you.”, he said firmly, and Oswald’s face lit up. Ed smiled at him before he had to yawn.

“You really need to rest.”, Oswald said, his voice suddenly filled with concern again. Ed wanted to disagree, but when he opened his mouth to speak he had to yawn again. He sighed, reluctantly let go of Oswald’s hands and climbed under the green cover. Oswald stayed sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand’s gripping the soft fabric of the blanket. He was staring straight ahead at the wall.

Ed cleared his throat and his head snapped around. He looked anxious, like he expected Ed to throw him out of the room. Little did he know that that was the last thing Ed wanted to do right now.

“Do you-“, he started, his voice shaking. “Do you want to stay?”

A smile spread across Oswald’s face and he nodded. Ed moved over so Oswald didn’t have to climb over him and Oswald slid under the covers next to him.

There was a moment of awkward silence until Ed sighed and shuffled closer to Oswald. He laid his head on Oswald’s chest. Oswald carefully put his arm around him in turn, holding him close to him. Ed could hear Oswald’s heart racing in his chest, almost matching the speed of his own. It was ridiculous how nervous he was, he felt like an anxious middle-schooler talking to their crush for the first time.

“We need to think about what do now.”, Ed whispered. Oswald’s breath hitched in his chest and he tensed underneath him.

“What do you mean?”, he asked after forcefully clearing his throat.

“Well, both of us are fugitives now, we need to find a solution for that.”, he responded. Oswald relaxed again.

“We can worry about that tomorrow. You need to rest.”, he repeated and gently rubbed Ed’s arm before reaching out to turn off the lights. Ed wanted to object, but Oswald’s steady breathing started to lull him to sleep. His eyes started to get heavy and it got harder to keep them open every second.

He felt Oswald pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head before gently drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are getting longer everytime I upload.  
> Hope you enjoyed it


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfiction is fueled by spite over what's happening on the show right now

Oswald had kicked up quite the fuss when Ed had gotten up this morning and offered to make them breakfast. Ed had replied that Oswald couldn’t keep him tied to the bed forever and for a moment it seemed like he actually considered that course of action, before he had finally given in, though he didn’t leave Ed’s side the whole time he was standing in the kitchen. It was endearing how much Oswald cared about him and Ed really appreciated it. He wasn’t used to people trying to _prevent_ him from hurting.

Because Oswald had been locked in Arkham for almost two months there wasn’t much edible food left in the house, besides some cereal and a half empty package of oat flakes. Thankfully there was still milk in the cellar and they even found some apples, so Ed managed to make some oatmeal.

Oswald was scraping the last remainders out of his bowl when Ed asked him: “What do we do now?”

“Well”, Oswald said and swallowed the last spoonful of oatmeal. “First, we get Martin from the safehouse. They will have to drop the charges of murder against me if we bring him to the GCPD.”

“What about our breakout from Arkham.”, Ed asked. Oswald made a dismissive gesture.

“Maybe we’ll have to pay a judge or two. Besides that, they have no evidence it was you.”, he responded. Ed raised an eyebrow.

“Someone must have seen me.”, he opposed but Oswald shook his head.

“The saw a man in a green suit and a bowler hat. Could have been anyone.”, he answered and smirked.

“If you say so.”, Ed murmured and took a swig of his water. He would have preferred coffee, but there was none left in the house. He wasn’t as optimistic about the whole situation as Oswald but he trusted his abilities. So far he had always found a way to get himself out of trouble. Ed just hoped it wouldn’t take long.

“So we get Martin and get the charges against you dropped and then what? You send him back to the orphanage?”, he wanted to know and Oswald sighed.

“That’s not an option. Sofia Falcone might be in a coma but some of her capos are still loyal to her. If we send him back to the orphanage they will abduct him again. Or worse.”, he said, a deep frown on his forehead.

“The safest place for him would probably be here, but I can’t just take him to the mansion. They charged me for murdering before, they’ll probably charge me for kidnapping him if I just try to bring him here.”, he continued and buried his head in his hands.

“Adopt him then.”, Ed proposed and Oswald snapped his head back up, his bright blue eyes fixing Ed.

“Adopt him?”, he shrieked. “Are you kidding me?”

“Why would I?”, he asked calmly and Oswald rapidly blinked at him.

“I can’t just _adopt a child!_ ”, he shouted furiously. Ed supressed his laughter. Oswald looked like he was going to explode.

“Why not?”, Ed teased and couldn’t keep the smile from tugging at his lips.

“Are you actually _insane?_ ”, Oswald responded.

“I have a certificate saying I’m not.”, he said and shrugged.

“I can’t just adopt Martin. He’s _ten years old!_ ”, Oswald added.

“I don’t see the problem.”, Ed responded and Oswald blinked at him again, obviously frantically searching for an answer. Ed spoke before he could say anything.

“It would be the easiest way to get him to safety. He could stay with you, either here at the mansion or in the city, whatever you want. You said it yourself, you’re fond of him and he obviously likes you a lot, so why not do it this way?”

Oswald stared at him and then buried his head in his hands again. He slowly looked up at Ed again after a while.

“Do you expect them to just _give_ him to me? I’ve been convicted of murder not once, but _twice._ ”,  he said, all the anger gone from his voice.

“Both times for murders you didn’t actually commit.”, Ed objected. Oswald shook his head and slumped down in his chair. He didn’t look at Ed.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve been in Arkham, they don’t care about how I got there or that I was declared sane. All they care about is that someone, at some point put a bright red stamp saying _criminally insane_ on my record.”, he explained and Ed suddenly realised that he must have been informed about this before.

“You already tried to adopt him, didn’t you?”, he asked and grabbed his hand to get his attention again. He didn’t look at him but nodded briefly. Immediately, Ed felt bad about teasing him.

“Can’t you pay off someone in the system?”, he asked and Oswald shook his head again.

“The woman I spoke to wouldn’t take the money. They threw me into Arkham before I could try anything else.”, he told him and sighed.

“We will find a solution.”, Ed said and squeezed Oswald’s hand. His friend shot a him a quick smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. They sat in silence for a while, each of them dwelling on their own thoughts.

“I could try to adopt him.”, Ed stated quietly and Oswald’s head shot up. His eyes were filled with confusion.

“You’ve also been to Arkham.”, he pointed out. “Your record is as bad as mine.”

“I can at least try.”, he answered. “I’m not a known boss of the underworld, I might have a better chance at adopting him than you do.”

“You can’t adopt Martin.”, Oswald exclaimed and violently shook his head. “You can’t.”

“Why not let me try?”, Ed asked, sensing that Oswald wasn’t talking about his bad police record.

“Because,”, Oswald answered and faltered.

“Because what if we break up? What if we turn on each other again?”, he continued quietly and stared up at Ed.

“I would _never_ do that again, Oswald. I love you.”, he answered, hurt by Oswald’s harsh questions.

“I know that. And I love you too. But that didn’t stop me from freezing you in a block of ice, did it? I still hurt you.”, he responded. Ed didn’t know what to say and avoided meeting Oswald’s eyes. He didn’t want to agree with him, but it was obvious that he had a point.

“Listen, Ed.”, Oswald whispered and squeezed his hand. He reluctantly looked him in the eyes. “This whole thing feels…It feels _right_ , but how can be sure that it will be that way forever? That it’ll be that way in a month?”

Ed angrily blinked the tears dwelling in his eyes away. He wouldn’t cry, not right now, not in front of Oswald.

“Since when do you not let your emotions guide you anymore?”, he choked out. A sad smile appeared on Oswald’s face.

“Since you told me to.”, he whispered and Ed closed his eyes, defeated. Oswald had changed a lot since they last had been friends. Ed’s betrayal had changed him. He could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn’t remember the last time he cried.

A warm finger brushed over his cheek and wiped the tears away. He opened his eyes again. Oswald was smiling at him.

“We will talk about this later, I promise.”, he said softly. “But right now we need to focus on the matters at hand. Getting Martin from the safehouse, then getting the charges against us dropped. Once we have all that figured out we can talk about the future.”

Ed nodded weakly and rubbed the rest of the tears away with his free hand.

“Okay.”, he croaked. Oswald’s smile brightened.

“The next stop should be the safehouse, then.”, he stated and let go of Ed’s hand, who reluctantly loosened his grip too.

“Actually, we need to stop by the Narrows first.”, Ed answered and Oswald frowned.

“Why?”, he asked and Ed grinned, his good mood already returning.

“Well, as comfortable as this outfit may be.”, he said and gestured towards himself. “I don’t think it’s very fitting for a trip to the city.”

Oswald chuckled and nodded.

“Then we’ll go to the Narrows first.”, he agreed. He stood up, took his dirty dished from the table and brought them to the kitchen. Ed followed his example.

“I’ll go get changed.”, Oswald said when they left the small room again. Ed nodded.

“I’ll take a shower.”, he answered. He had been longing for a shower since he woke up this morning. Lee had wiped away most of the blood from his neck, but some of it had dried down beneath his shirt and there was also still dried blood on his leg.

“Be careful.”, Oswald said and worriedly glanced at Ed’s leg. He rolled his eyes in response.

“I know how to take a shower.”, he answered and smiled warmly. He appreciated Oswald’s concern, but it was unjustified. He felt world’s better than the night before, his head no longer throbbing, and the pain in his leg and jaw had also lessened quite a bit. Although that might have just been the effect of the painkillers he had taken after waking up.

Before he showered he checked the wound like Lee had ordered him to last night. There were no signs of infection, the bleeding had probably washed out most of the dirt and she had also cleaned it thoroughly. He took a quick shower, washing the blood from his neck and his leg and bandaged it again, before putting on his sweater and the borrowed sweatpants again. He longed for clean clothes and a pair of pants that actually fit him.

He went downstairs again and waited for Oswald in the living room. He inspected the sofa and sighed when he saw the bloodstains left on the cushions.

“We’ll need to get the sofa cleaned.”, he said when he heard Oswald enter the room. He turned around and was taken aback by the sight for a moment. Oswald’s hair was styled as usual, but he was wearing a fur coat Ed had never seen before. Apparently a new addition to his wardrobe. It vaguely reminded him of Fish Mooney.

Thankfully Oswald didn’t notice his confused looked as he was also inspecting the stains on the sofa.

“I’ll get someone to take care of it. It needed new upholstery anyway.”, he answered dismissively. He turned and Ed hurried after him, out of the front door and towards the car. The gravel path still showed where Oswald had dragged him towards the door the day before.

“Do you really think you should drive?”, Ed asked when he saw Oswald opening the driver’s door. Oswald raised both eyebrows.

“Excuse me, but I’m not the one who got tortured and stabbed less than 24 hours ago and I’m also not the one who took painkillers this morning.”, he answered. “So yes, I think I _should_ drive.”

Ed didn’t object, there was no way of beating Oswald’s logic. He walked around the car and slid into the passenger seat.

They drove to the Narrows quickly, barely talking and with the radio turned off. Oswald had once told him that he hated driving, that he had always found it way too stressful to pay attention to everything going on. It had only gotten worse after his leg got injured.

They arrived at the Narrows and parked in front of the apartment building Lee used as her clinic and home.

“Do you want to stay in the car? It’ll only be a few minutes.”, he asked and Oswald pressed his lips into a tight line.

“I’m not _scared_ of her.”, he answered and opened the door. Ed sighed and followed him.

“I wasn’t implying you were scared. But it’s obvious that you and Lee don’t get along.”, he explained.

“Good thing we’re not here to see Lee, then.” Oswald snapped. Ed sighed and opened the door to the apartment building. The walked straight past the closed door of Lee’s clinic and up the stairs. He took out his keys and opened the door to his apartment. It barely deserved the name, it was only one small, cramped room and an even smaller, dirty bathroom.

“Your old apartment was much nicer.”, Oswald murmured. Ed chuckled.

“Well, I pretty much only used this room to sleep, but it’s still pretty unsatisfying.”, he agreed. He opened the closet door and took a pair of pants, a shirt and an olive-coloured sweater. He quickly got changed in the small bathroom and threw his dirty clothes into an old laundry basket next to the bed. Then he started taking more clothes from the shelves, also putting them into the laundry basket.

Oswald appeared by his side, peering over his shoulder.

“How many green suits do you own?”, he asked, and Ed wasn’t sure if he was actually amazed or just mocking him.

“Not that many.”, he answered. Oswald huffed and reached around him, filing through the suit jackets, neatly hanging on coat hangers.

“There are at least- “, he interrupted himself, “ _what the hell is this?”_ He took out the jacket in question and turned towards Ed, a look of utter confusion on his face. Ed chuckled and took the jacket out of his hands.

“I wore this when I moderated the shows at Cherry’s place.”, he explained.

“It’s glittery.”, Oswald said, voice flat.

“So?”, Ed asked, grinning.

“It’s ugly.”, Oswald answered, staring at the green jacket. Ed took a step forward.

“Says the man wearing a purple coat. With fur.”, he said, tone mocking. Oswald also took a step forward, lifting his chin. Ed’s heart started beating faster.

“I would never wear something like _this!_ ”, Oswald exclaimed, pointing accusingly at the glittery jacket. He was obviously offended by Ed mocking his fashion sense. Ed took another step forward, leaving almost no space between them. He tilted his head to the side.

“No you wouldn’t.”, he murmured. “Green doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh doesn’t it?”, Oswald challenged.

“No, purple suits you better. It brings out your eyes.”, Ed answered, smiling. He saw Oswald glancing at his lips and leaned even closer, his heart racing in his chest.

“Ehem.”, someone coughed and Ed jumped back, almost falling over the laundry basked behind him, dropping the jacket. Oswald whirled around.

Lee was leaning in the doorway, one eyebrow raised so high it disappeared beneath her dark bangs. Ed had no idea how long she had been standing there.

“Lee.”, he blurted out, his face burning with heat.

“Hi, Ed.”, she greeted him and turned to Oswald with a tight-lipped smile. “Oswald.”

Awkward silence filled the room.

“What are you doing?”, Lee finally asked.

“Oh, we’re just getting some of my stuff.”, he answered, struggling with his words. Lee frowned but didn’t answer. Oswald picked up the laundry basket.

“I’ll get this to the car.”, he stated and glanced at Lee.

“I’ll be there in a minute.”, Ed answered and watched as Oswald walked past Lee and out of the door. She followed him with her eyes for a moment and then turned around again.

“Does this mean you’re moving in with him again?”, Lee asked. Ed shrugged, remembering his earlier conversation with Oswald about the future.

“We haven’t talked about it yet.”, he murmured and bent down to pick up his jacket. He took the rest of the jackets from the clothes rail. He heard Lee stepping closer.

“Do you really think this is wise?”, she asked and he turned around to face her. She was frowning.

“What do you mean?”, he responded. She stared at him for a moment, the expression on her face unreadable and shook her head.

“Nevermind.”, she sighed. Ed frowned but she didn’t continue talking. Another awkward silence followed.

“I better get going.”, Ed said and glanced towards the door.

“Yeah, you better don’t keep the bird waiting for too long.”, she answered without looking at him. Ed closed the closet door and walked over to the door. He turned around in the doorway. Lee was standing in the middle of the room, her eyes now fixed on him.

“Goodbye, Lee.”, he said and she nodded absentmindedly.

“Yeah, goodbye.”, she repeated. Ed left, Lee still standing in the empty room behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it is even longer than the ones before


	6. Chapter 6

The passenger door opened and Ed slid into the seat, carelessly throwing the green suit jackets he had been carrying into the back of the car. Oswald smiled at him, relieved that he had finally come back. Up until this moment he had feared that he might not return after all, that Lee had talked him into staying with her.

“She’s upset.”, Ed said quietly when they pulled onto the main street. Oswald glanced over him quickly.

“Why?”, he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

“She thinks this is unwise.”, Ed answered and gestured vaguely at Oswald and himself.

“What did you expect? She doesn’t like me.”, Oswald responded and slowed down to stop at a red light. Ed only sighed in response.

“She didn’t seem to happy to see _me_ either.”, he said after a while. “I don’t think she understands that this is who I really am.”

“You mean the _Riddler_.”, Oswald stated. He still hated the name, he thought it was ridiculous but Ed seemed happy with it.

“She thinks we’re two completely different people. She doesn’t understand that we’re not-“, he stopped and Oswald finished his sentence for him.

“You’re not two sides of the same medal.”

Ed nodded in agreement and Oswald could see him smiling out of the corner of his eye.

They drove in comfortable silence and Oswald parked the car in front of the apartment building where Ed had hidden Martin. They hurried inside and took the elevator to the top floor. Ed led the way to the door.

“I’m surprised you still own this place.”, Oswald murmured when they stopped in front of the metal door of the loft. Ed shot him an amused glance.

“Why wouldn’t I? I bought it, of course it still belongs to me. I thought it could come in handy some day and it did.”, he answered and knocked on the door, before unlocking it. He pulled it open slightly. Oswald tried to take a look inside, but Ed was blocking his view.

“Martin?”, Ed called and peeked inside. “It’s me, don’t worry. I’m coming in now.” He pulled open the door entirely and they stepped inside. The apartment looked scarily similar to the last time Oswald had been here, years ago. He quickly lost his train of thought when he spotted Martin, sitting at the kitchen table. He jumped up when he saw Oswald, his eyes widening.

Oswald could feel a smile spreading on his face and he stumbled forward.

“Martin.”, he said. Tears of joy dwelling in his eyes. He hadn’t been aware of just how worried he had been about the kid until he saw him. He looked well, maybe a bit tired, but at least it didn’t seem like he was hurt.

Martin cautiously stepped forward and then suddenly started running towards him, almost pulling him to the ground when he threw his arms around him. He hadn’t expected such a fierce greeting but happily crouched down and pulled Martin close to him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”, he said breathlessly, letting go of Martin again. The boy smiled at him, his eyes beaming. He scribbled something on his notepad and held it up so Oswald could read it.

_I’m glad you’re okay, too._

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get you.”, Oswald apologized and Martin shook his head, his brown locks bouncing around. He scribbled again.

_I knew you would come get me. We’re conspirators._

Ed stepped near and helped Oswald to his feet again. Martin frowned at him before tilting his head slightly and writing something down. He showed it to Oswald, cupping the notepad with his hand so that only he could see it.

_Is the riddle man your friend again?_

Oswald chuckled and glanced at Ed, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, we are friends again.”, he answered and Martin nodded. Again, he wrote something down and held it so that Ed couldn’t read it.

_Are you not scared that he will betray you?_

Oswald looked at Ed again, who was wiping dust off the table.

“I trust that he won’t.”, Oswald responded. Martin smiled, seemingly satisfied with the answer and turned towards Ed. He held up his notepad so that both men could read it.

_Thank you for helping me, riddle man._

“It’s ‘Riddler’.”, Ed corrected him, but his voice was gentle. Martin grinned, holding up another note.

_Riddle man sounds better._

Oswald laughed at the confused look on Ed’s face. Ed quickly shook his head and glanced around the apartment.

“Did you find everything?”, he asked, changing the topic. Martin nodded in response.

_Thank you for letting me stay here._

“It is a really nice apartment.”, Oswald agreed and looked around. He remembered sitting at that kitchen table, eating crappy Chinese takeaway and singing duets with Ed. Even though he hadn’t realised it back then, this apartment was where he had fallen in love with him.

“Do you remember when you asked me if I believed in fate?”, he asked and turned towards Ed, who nodded, frowning.

“I think it really was fate that brought me here.”, Oswald said gently and Ed’s frown turned into a smile. Oswald turned to face Martin again, who was looking at them quizzically, head tilted to the side.

“As nice as this apartment may be, there are place I’d rather be right now.”, Oswald admitted. “I think we should get going.” The boy nodded in agreement, writing down a note.

_Where are we going?_

“Well, unfortunately we need to stop by the GCPD first, and afterwards…”, he trailed off. They still hadn’t figured out what they would do with Martin once Oswald was free off any charges.

“We’ll go to the mansion.”, Ed continued and met Oswald’s eyes. “Then we figure out everything else.” They stared at each other for a moment, until Martin walked past between them and towards the door. Ed shrugged and followed him. Oswald allowed himself another glance around before hurrying after them.

 ***

“You should stay in the car.”, Oswald said when he parked the car in front of the precinct. He looked over at Ed who already had his hand on the door handle.

“Why?”, he asked, glaring at him. “You said yourself that they can’t prove it was me.”

“That won’t stop them from arresting you.”, Oswald responded. “But if you want to spend the night in a holding cell, go ahead.”

Ed huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest but didn’t try to open the door again. Oswald opened his own door and got out of the car, before opening the back door for Martin. The boy looked at him curiously after he had climbed out of the back seat.

“I’ll explain it to you later.”, he whispered before leading him towards the building.

Once they were inside he immediately went to the front desk, keeping Martin close to his side and glancing around warily.

“I would like to talk to Captain Gordon.”, he said to the policewoman sitting at the desk. She was reading a magazine and didn’t look up.

“The captain is not –“, she finally lifter her eyes from the page, recognised Oswald and jumped up from her chair.

“Penguin.”, she exclaimed and Oswald rolled his eyes.

“Just get Jim Gordon.”, he ordered, annoyed. She stared at him wide-eyed.

“He’s not-“, she stammered, “He’s not here. I’ll…I’ll get Bullock.”

She left him standing in front of the desk and hurried away. Oswald sighed and walked over to a nearby bench. Martin sat down next to him and looked at him, clearly confused.

_What’s going on?_

“They charged me for murdering you, and sent me to Arkham for it. Ed helped me escape yesterday.”, Oswald muttered and Martin’s expression changed from confused to worried.

_Will you be fine?_

Oswald smiled at him warmly.

“Don’t worry about me. You’re alive aren’t you?”, he joked and Martin smiled and nodded. He wrote something beneath his previous message.

_Will the riddle man be fine, too?_

“That’s a bit more complicated.”, he sighed. “But ultimately yes, he will be fine too.” Before Martin could ask any more questions, the policewoman reappeared again.

“Harvey, I mean Bullock, I mean Captain Bullock awaits you in the Captain’s office.”, she stuttered. Oswald got up and followed her, one hand firmly on Martin’s shoulder. Everyone was staring at him and he held his chin a bit higher. The woman opened the door to the Captain’s office and then quickly hurried away.

Harvey looked up from the desk, unimpressed by Oswald’s entrance.

“How nice to see you again, Harvey.”, he greeted him, voice dripping with sarcasm. Harvey took off his reading glasses.

“Yeah, spare me the crap and sit down.”, he growled and Oswald sat down, crossing his legs. Martin stayed standing beside him, looking back and forth between the two men. Oswald motioned for him to sit with a smile and the boy sat down in the chair next to him.

“Who’s the kid?”, Harvey asked and looked at Martin. Oswald smiled, putting a hand on Martin’s back.

“This is Martin. The boy you accused me of murdering. As you can see, he is very much alive.”, he said and watched with pleasure how Harvey’s eyes widened. He frantically searched through the open file in front of him. He took out a photo and held it close to his face, peered at Martin and looked at the photo.

“You actually told the truth?”, he asked. Oswald pursed his lips.

“I might be a criminal, but I pride myself on my honesty.”, he answered and Harvey raised an eyebrow. “When it is necessary.”, Oswald added with a smirk. Harvey glared at him before turning towards Martin.

“You are Martin Laurent?”, he asked and Martin nodded.

“Did this man hurt you?”, Harvey asked without hesitation and pointed at Oswald. Martin frowned and shook his head.

“Who abducted you?”, Harvey continued and Martin turned towards Oswald.

“Go on, answer Detective Bullocks’s questions.”, he said and smiled warmly. Martin took the notpad and started writing something. He teared the paper out and slid it over the desk.

“ _Victor Zsasz abducted me, but he was following Sofia Falcone’s orders.”,_ Harvey murmured while reading the note. He looked up again.

“Why would Sofia Falcone want to abduct you?”, he asked and Martin started writing again.

“ _She used me to manipulate Oswald. She wanted him gone.”_ , Harvey read out once Martin had handed him the note.

“Did he tell you to say this?”, Harvey asked, squinting his head. Martin shook his head violently. Oswald saw the note he was scribbling on the pad.

_I figured it out myself._

He smiled, impressed by Martin’s grasp on the whole situation. They had talked about Sofia trying to use Martin against Oswald before, but apparently the boy had also figured out that his abduction had been part of her plan by himself.

“I suppose you will have to drop the charges against me now?”, Oswald asked and Harvey glared at him again.

“Escaping from Arkham is still a crime.”, he answered. Oswald huffed angrily.

“I was wrongfully imprisoned.”, he responded. Harvey shrugged and grinned, leaning back in his chair.

“Tell that to the judges.”, he said. Oswald leaned forward.

“If I recall correctly, Jim Gordon escaped from Blackgate. _He_ was never charged with anything.”, he said and Harvey grimaced. “Actually, Jim is now _Captain_ of the GCPD. It seems hardly fair that you want to convict me of the same crime.”

Harvey narrowed his eyes, and Oswald knew that he had trapped him in a corner.

“Tell me where Nygma is and I’ll let you go.”, he growled after a moment of consideration. Oswald raised and eyebrow, faking surprise.

“What does he have to do with all of this?”, he asked.

“Don’t play dumb with me. I saw a man in a green suit helping you escape. I _know_  it was Nygma.”, he explained, leaning forward again. Oswald relaxed into his chair again.

“Ah, so you saw a man in a green suit.”, he started and tilted his head slightly. “And _assumed_ it was him.” He grinned.

Harvey looked like he was going to strangle him but then he thought better of it. He turned towards Martin.

“Where is Nygma?”, he asked and the boy stared at him, eyes narrowed in confusion. He scribbled down a note. Oswald saw it as he slid across the desk.

_Who is ‘Nygma’?_

Oswald bit down on his cheek to keep himself from bursting into laughter. The look on Harvey’s face was absolutely priceless. He pressed his teeth together and turned towards Oswald, leaning forward even further.

“We _will_ find an eyewitness. And then I will personally throw you two into the loony bin again.”, he threatened. Oswald nodded.

“Of course, Detective.”, he said, mocking sincerity. He stood up and adjusted his coat.

“Martin, let’s go.”, he said and the boy jumped up from his seat, eagerly following him to the door.

“Goodbye, Harvey.”, Oswald added when he opened the door, leading Martin through with one hand. “Always a pleasure talking to you.” He closed the door before Harvey could answer anything.

They hurried out of the precinct and walked towards the car. Ed was sitting in the driver’s seat. Oswald frowned but still slid into the passenger seat after making sure that Martin was safe in the backseat.

“How did it go?”, Ed asked, turning on the engine. Oswald grinned and in response.

“Martin was very convincing.”, he praised and turned around to look at Martin, who was smiling proudly. “They have to drop the murder charges.”

“What about the escape?”, Ed wanted to know and Oswald sighed.

“Well, I told Harvey that he couldn’t convict me for a crime Jim Gordon also committed.”, he explained. “But they are still looking for eyewitnesses to confirm you were helping me.”

Ed glanced at him.

“Don’t worry, they won’t find any. The guards at Arkham get paid exceptionally low wages and the inmates can hardly be called trustworthy. They won’t be able to prove your involvement.”, he reassured him and Ed smiled.

“Thank you, Oswald.”, he answered and Oswald grinned.

“That’s what friends are for.”, he murmured and Ed laughed.

Suddenly, a hand touched Oswald’s shoulder and he turned around to see Martin holding up the last note he had written. He tapped against it with his finger.

_Who is ‘Nygma’?_

Oswald broke out into shrill laughter. Ed glanced at him, clearly concerned and Martin frowned.

“You weren’t lying?”, Oswald choked out. Martin shook his head vigorously, his locks flying around his head. Oswald started laughing even harder. The whole situation was hysterical.

“This is ‘Nygma’.”, he finally managed to get out and pointed at Ed, who was still shooting him concerned glances. Martin’s eyes widened. He started scribbling frantically.

_You only ever call him Ed! And he introduced himself as Riddler!!_

“Don’t worry about it.”, Oswald said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Our story would have been less convincing if you had to lie.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might have noticed, I don't believe that "Ed and the Riddler are still seperate people" crap the show is pulling right now. 
> 
> As always, I hope you had fun reading this


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, this fic was originally supposed to have only 6 chapters. Didn't work out quite like I imagined.

They stopped by a grocery store so they could have something other than oatmeal for dinner and Oswald insisted on stopping somewhere to get fresh clothes for Martin. Ed was more than happy to oblige, as he hadn’t seen Oswald this happy since he won the mayoral election. It seemed like he once again had everything he wanted. Ed’s heart fluttered when he thought about the fact that this probably included him as well.

He cooked dinner for them, even though Oswald kicked up the same fuss as over breakfast, but Ed wanted to give him some time to talk to Martin. They hadn’t seen each other in months and it seemed like both of them needed to share some stories.

Martin passed him a note after dinner, smiling shyly.

_Can I call you Ed? It’s faster to write than riddle man._

Ed frowned and thought about it for a moment. He didn’t like being called ‘Ed’, it reminded him too much of the insecure lab technician at the GCPD, but he already made an exception for Oswald, who absolutely refused to call him Riddler, even after what had happened at Arkham. It wouldn’t hurt to make one for Martin too. Especially as he already felt himself growing fond of the boy. He was incredibly smart, as Oswald had told him and when they went out to get ice cream after he had rescued Martin he had been able to answer all the riddles Ed had asked him in a matter of seconds.

“If you want to.”, he said and Martin nodded gratefully. Ed could see Oswald smiling fondly out of the corner of his eyes. He turned to meet his gaze and Oswald blushed, quickly staring down at his fingernails. Ed chuckled silently.

“Hey, Martin.”, he said and the boy looked up from his empty plate. “Without wings I fly, and without eyes I cry. What am I?”

Martin squinted at him for a moment, then his face brightened again. He passed him another piece of paper.

_A cloud. That was too easy._

Ed grinned and raised and eyebrow.

“Oh, that was too easy for you? Well, how about this one then: ‘I turn things around, but I do not move. What am I?’, he asked. Martin started scribbling the answer down in an instant, passing him the sheet.

_A mirror. Still too easy._

“Still?”, Ed responded, frowning and Martin nodded sincerely. Ed shook his head. “Okay, maybe this one will be hard enough: ‘I am an instrument you can hear, but you can neither touch nor see me. What am I?’”

Martin stared at him, brows furrowing. He wrote something down, before shaking his head ever so slightly and turning the paper around. Apparently this one was harder for him to figure out. Suddenly, he rolled his eyes, scribbling down the answer and passing it to Ed.

_Your voice. Very funny._

Ed’s eyes widened in shock.

“I didn’t even think about that, I’m so sorry.”, he apologized. Martin glared at him and Ed could see Oswald shooting him a worried glance out of the corner of his eye. There was a moment of tense silence, before Martin giggled silently. Ed relaxed again and Martin motioned for him to turn the piece of paper around. What Ed had thought to be Martin’s first answer was instead another message.

_Just kidding._

Ed glared and shook his head before giving him a thumbs-up and grinning. He was impressed by Martin’s acting talent.

He passed the note to Oswald, who had been looking back and forth between them, a concerned look on his face. He quickly scanned over the note, turned it around and started laughing.

“Very good, Martin.”, he praised, grinning. Ed huffed and rolled his eyes, making Oswald laugh again.

Ed shook his head took the last sip of his water. He would have preferred wine, but Oswald had refused to open a bottle, insisting that Ed was in no state to drink alcohol. He disagreed but he didn’t want to argue with Oswald about something so miniscule.

Martin yawned silently, stretching his arms out. Ed wasn’t surprised that he was tired, after everything he had been though in the last 48 hours alone. The boy claimed that he was fine, but being freed from captivity, only to spend the night alone in an unfamiliar apartment would leave anyone burnt out, especially a ten-year-old child.

“Do you want to go to bed, Martin? You must be very tired.”, Oswald asked and the boy nodded and got out of his chair. Oswald got up as well.

“I’ll just put the dishes away, then I’ll show you your bedroom.”, he explained, stacking the used plates.

“I can do that.”, Ed interrupted him and Oswald frowned down at him.

“Lee said you need to rest.”, he responded and Ed rolled his eyes, standing up and taking the plates out of Oswald’s hands.

“It’s only dishes, Oswald.”, he said and smiled, putting the stack of plates on the table.

“Still, I don’t think she intended for you to do _chores.”_ , Oswald grumbled.

“I’m fine.”, Ed assured him. Oswald huffed.

“You nearly _died_ yesterday!”, he exclaimed, gesturing wildly, and Ed sighed. Oswald’s concern was starting to get on his nerves. It was sweet, but he also felt like he was over-reacting. They had stabbed him once, he had lost some blood but he didn’t feel weak.

Their argument was interrupted by Martin, who took the dishes off the table and brought them to the kitchen. He quickly returned, holding in note in his hand.

_Can you stop arguing? I’m tired._  

Ed raised an eyebrow and looked at Oswald, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He sighed, dropping his arms to his sides again and shooting Ed an apologetic smile. He motioned for Martin to follow him and led him up the stairs.

Ed sighed heavily and sat down at the table again, staring at his hands. He desperately wanted Martin to stay with them, not only because Oswald seemed so much happier with him around, but also because he himself liked the boy. He had only met him less than two days ago and he already felt like he would rather be frozen again than see him hurt. It was unclear to him what exactly it was that made him feel this way about Martin, maybe it was his wit, or his smile, or the fact that he reminded Ed of himself as a kid. He suspected that Oswald felt something similar.

He sighed again, dreading the conversation they would have to have soon. It wouldn’t be easy to convince him that he wouldn’t betray him again. Even though he had said that he trusted Ed, saying something and actually acting on it were two very different things. Especially when Ed had broken his trust so many times before. Oswald had every right to be suspicious.

He stood up from the table and nearly ran into Oswald when he went upstairs. He had already changed his suit jacked and shirt for the same penguin sweater he had worn last night.

“I was just coming down.”, he informed him. Ed smiled apologetically.

“I’m tried.”, he responded and Oswald nodded, turning on his heels and went upstairs again. There was a moment of awkward silence when they reached the top of the stairs.

“We need to talk.”, Ed mumbled and Oswald turned, avoiding his gaze.

“Get changed into something more comfortable if you want to.”, he finally answered, still not looking at Ed, instead staring blankly at the wall next to them. “I’ll wait downstairs.”

Ed nodded and went to his room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with shaking hands. He couldn’t explain why he was so anxious all of a sudden, so _scared_ of Oswald. Rationally, he knew that everything would turn out fine, that Oswald wouldn’t send him away, that they would find a solution that satisfied everyone, but something in him kept screaming that everything would go to hell again, that the fragile relationship they had started would break apart again. Ed tried his best to ignore it, quickly changed into a fresh sweater and comfortable pants before he left the room again, his heart beating in his chest.

When he entered the hallway to go downstairs again, he saw Oswald standing in on of the doors, a content smile on his face. Ed walked over and saw that he was watching Martin, who had already fallen asleep, snuggled into the blanket, the light on the nightstand still turned on. Oswald turned around when he heard him.

“How is he?”, Ed whispered.

“Out like a light.”, Oswald answered, chuckling slightly. He carefully closed the door again, staring at the dark wood for a moment, and turned towards Ed again. The content smile was gone, swapped for an anxious look.

“I can’t lose him again, Ed.”, he choked, staring down on the carpet. Cautiously, Ed reached out and grabbed his hand. Oswald looked up at him.

“You don’t have to.”, he said and Oswald let out a small sigh, closing his eyes. They stood in silence for a while, Ed still holding on to Oswald’s hand, hoping that he wouldn’t have to let him go.

“Let’s not have this conversation here.”, Oswald finally muttered and tugged at Ed’s hand, leading him along the hallway and into his room. When they entered Ed had to smile despite his anxiety. The room was so very _Oswald_ with the heavy, dark violet curtains and the matching satin bedsheets. They sat down at the edge of the bed, Ed still holding onto one of Oswald’s pale hands.

“Have you thought about my suggestion.”, he asked as calmly as possible, figuring that there was no use in delaying the conversation further.

“I’ve hardly thought about anything else this whole day.”, Oswald answered, his gaze fixed on their joined hands. “I still haven’t found the answer.”, he added after a moment of silence and Ed inhaled sharply.

“You said you trusted me.”, he said bitterly, sounding more hurt than he actually intended to. Oswald looked at him, a sad smile on his face.

“I do.”, he responded. “But that didn’t change anything the last time.” Ed pressed his lips together, his stomach twisting.

“Do you really believe that I would betray you again?”, he asked, anger bubbling inside of him. “Is it so hard to believe that I might have changed? That I might not be the man that betrayed you anymore?”

Oswald’s eyes widened, apparently surprised by Ed’s sudden outbreak. He opened his mouth, but Ed interrupted him before he could utter a word.

“Do you really think that I would hurt you like that again?”, he asked, almost choking on his words. Oswald slowly shook his head.

“Then _trust me.”_ , Ed pleaded, squeezing Oswald’s hand. They stared at each other for a moment, Oswald’s face unreadable to Ed. Suddenly he stood up, letting go of Ed’s hand. He felt tears dwelling in his eyes, but he angrily blinked them away. Oswald started pacing up and down in front of him, hands locked behind his back. Ed followed him with his eyes, his heart racing in his chest, helplessly waiting for him to say something.

“I don’t know if I can. Not with what happened in the past.”, he finally said, coming to a sudden halt in front of Ed.

“You don’t need to trust in the _past!_ ”, Ed yelled. He jumped up, grabbing Oswald by the shoulders. He raised his hands defensively but didn’t push him away.

“You need to trust in the _future._ ”, Ed pleaded, feeling useless tears running down his cheeks. “In _our_  future.”

He let go of Oswald again, angrily rubbing the tears from his face. Oswald stared at him, blue eyes flickering, trembling hands still raised between them.

“Please.”, Ed bagged, voice cracking. “Oswald, please. I love you.”

Oswald was breathing heavily, his lips trembling. Then he suddenly stepped closer, grabbed the collar of Ed’s sweater and pulled him down, their lips crashing together. Ed slung his arms around him, pulling him closer to his chest, intend on never letting him go again. He could taste salty tears on his lips, unsure if there were his own or Oswald’s.

They broke apart, gasping for air and Oswald buried his face in Ed’s neck

“Okay”, he whispered, shifting slightly. “I trust you.” He lifted his head and looked at Ed, smiling slightly.

“We’ll make this work.”, Ed assured him, tears still trickling down his cheeks.

“I love you.”, Oswald answered and pulled him down to kiss him again.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I thought it was fun to kind of change their dynamic a bit, making Ed a bit more emotional and Oswald a bit more calm and caculating.   
> Writing Martin is also delightful. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed reading this as well. 
> 
> Btw, you can finde me on tumblr: ihave-toomanyfandoms.tumblr.com


	8. Chapter 8

The bell above the door chimed when Ed pushed it open to step inside of the diner. He gave the waitress, a young, red-haired woman, behind the counter a curt nod and glanced around the room. He spotted Lee sitting in one of the booths at the back of the room, staring out of the window absent-mindedly. He grinned, walked over to her and slid onto the seat opposite of her. She turned towards him slowly, eying him for a moment before raising an eyebrow.

“New tie?”, she asked as a greeting. He looked down, unsure with tie he had even put on this morning. It was purple, had and intricate swirl pattern and was very obviously Oswald’s and not his.

“We had a busy morning.”, he responded and shrugged. The waitress came to their table before Lee could say anything, setting down two cups of coffee in front of them.

“Thank you, Ella.”, Lee said and smiled. “How is your little brother doing?” The woman smiled brightly.

“He’s much better thanks to you, Doc.”, she responded. “If you need anything, just tell me.”

She smiled again and vanished into a different part of the diner to tend to another guest.

“I was surprised to get a lunch invitation.”, Lee said, grabbing her cup. “After all, I haven’t hurt from you in over two months.”

“Well, I just thought it would be nice to catch up with an old friend.”, he responded. Lee shook her head slightly and relaxed back into the bench.

“So this is what we’re doing? We’re just _catching up_?”, she asked, tilting her head slightly. Ed ripped open a stick of sugar and started stirring it into his cup of coffee.

“Of course.”, he answered, looking up at her and grinning brightly. Lee raised her eyebrow again, taking a sip from her cup.

“How have you been doing, then?”, she asked, her voice overly sweet and with a smile on her lips that didn’t reach her dark eyes.

“Fine, how are you?”, he said, mocking her tone and returning her fake smile. He put his cup to his lips, blowing on the hot beverage.  She only rolled her eyes, taking another sip from her coffee.

“The club is going well. Everything else… not so much.”, she admitted, putting her cup down again. She sighed. “I’m still struggling to find a new right-hand man.”

Ed grinned, finally taking a sip from his coffee. It was still burning hot, but he swallowed it anyways, his face not even twitching once.

“I bet people are desperately trying to get their hands on the position.”, he replied, still smirking.

“They are.”, Lee said, shrugging. “But none of them are as good as you.”

He was surprised by her sincerity, but he didn’t show it. Instead he rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

“I’m not meant to be a sidekick, Lee.”, he claimed, repeating words he had spoken to her before. Lee tilted her head slightly.

“You mean you’re not meant to be _my_ sidekick.”, she mused, a devious smile tugging at her lips. “You seem to be fine with being Oswald’s.”

He huffed, glaring at her.

“Oswald and I are _partners.”_ , he answered coldly. “Equals.”

Lee hummed into her cup, nodding slightly.

“If you say so.”, she said dismissively, obviously trying to get a raise out of him. He put his cup down on the table.

“I don’t care if you disapprove of my life choices.”, he informed her, leaning forwards. “I’m happier than I’ve been for a long time.”

She mirrored his motion, leaning forward as well and glaring at him through her dark hair.

“Yeah, you and your little _family_.”, she mocked. Ed pressed his lips together, repressing his anger. Lee leaned back again, coffee cup in hand and an arrogant grin on her face.

“Congrats on becoming a father by the way.”, she said and Ed couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “I have to ask, how much did you have to pay them to give the boy to you?”

His smile faltered again.

“I applied for adoption as anybody else would.”, he answered, pursing his lips.

“Yeah, but you’ve been to _Arkham._ There is a stamp saying ‘criminally insane’ on your record.”, she said, unknowingly repeating Oswald’s words.

“And there is a certificate above my fireplace saying that I’m cured.”, he responded, forcing himself to smile. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that insolent grin off her face.

“You committed crimes after that.”, she said, frowning. _The_ Ther

“Under the influence of drugs given to me by Barbara Kean.”, he told her solemnly. “I’ve worked past that addiction. Some of the crimes I committee still haunt me to this day.” He had to keep himself from laughing when he spoke the last part.

Lee rolled her eyes.

“That’s all it took? You told them your little sob story and they _believed_ you?”, she asked, shaking her head.

“Well.”, Ed said, shrugging. “It certainly _helped_ that Oswald made a donation to some of Gotham’s poorest orphanages in my name.” He took a sip from his coffee.

Lee huffed, shaking her head again, her dark hair falling into her face. She reclined back, coffee cup in hand.

“To be honest, I’m worried about the boy. Oswald seemed to be quite fond of him.”, she said looking out of the window for a moment. She turned back. “How is he?”

Ed raised an eyebrow, surprised that she asked about Oswald’s wellbeing.

“He’s fine. A bit stressed, but nothing he can’t deal with.”, he answered, smiling slightly.

“Stressed? About what?”, she asked. He squinted, trying to decipher if she was actually interested or was just trying to mock him. Her expression seemed sincere to him.

“Sofia Falcone might be in a coma, but some of her capos are still loyal to her.”, he sighed and a satisfied grin appeared on Lee’s face when he mentioned her sister-in-law. “I think they hope that ‘sleeping beauty’ might wake up again.”

“I assure you, you don’t have to worry about her.”, she said. “Even if she should wake up, her brain is pudding. She won’t be a threat to anyone.”

Ed nodded. He wasn’t particularly worried about Sofia, even though he had asked Oswald if it wouldn’t be wise to get her killed while she was still in a coma, but he had refused to put a hit out on her. He had told him that the only person allowed to kill her was himself, so as long as he couldn’t kill her no one would. Ed had complied without arguing any further. The only thing stronger than Oswald’s desire for revenge was his love for Ed and Martin.

“So Oswald is trying to take over the city again?”, Lee interrupted his train of thought. He nodded, taking a sip from his cup.

“You know that’s insane.”, she said nonchalantly and he nearly choked on his coffee. He slammed the cup down on the table. Lee jerked back.

“Oswald’s not _insane!_ ”, he growled. Lee stared at him, her eyes widened in shock, but a smirk was already forming on her face.

“Seems like a hit a nerve there.”, she mumbled into her cup, emptying it and setting the dup down carefully. Ed only glared in response.

“But seriously, how many times has he tried to take over already? Three? Four?”, she asked and he turned away from her, instead looking out of the window, watching the people in the street.

“It always ends the same. He either nearly gets killed or he gets thrown into Arkham again. He _always_ fails.”, she continued. “You know that is one definition of insanity, right? Doing the same thing over and over again and - “ 

“- expecting different results.”, he interrupted. He turned towards again, his brows furrowed in anger. “He won’t fail this time.”

“Oh and why is that?”, she wanted to know, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “What does he have this time he didn’t have before?”

Ed grinned and leaned forward slightly.

“Me.”, he whispered and reclined again, Lee’s expression stayed unimpressed. “You said it yourself.”, he continued. “I’m the best right-hand man in town.”

Lee rolled her eyes and stared out of the window for a while. Ed watched her, wishing he could read her thoughts. She took a deep breath and turned towards him again.

“Ed, listen to me. You _will_ fail.”, she said, suddenly a lot sincerer than before. She wasn’t trying to mock him. “This town is crazy. You should get out before it kills you.”

“What do you mean?”, he asked, frowning.

“This town is going to eat both you and Oswald alive.”, she answered. “And Martin as well, if you’re not careful.”

He tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Is that a threat?”, he asked, voice dangerously quiet. Lee shook her head vigorously.

“No. It’s a prediction.”, she replied. She grabbed his hand, holding it firmly between both of hers.

“I’m saying this as your friend. You _need_ to get out of Gotham.”, she let go of his hand again. “This town is getting worse every day. Just look at all of the shit that happened since I first started working at the GCPD. Back then all we had to worry about was that stupid gang war between Falcone and Maroni. It was a big deal back then but in retrospect? It’s laughable compared to everything that happened since then. Galavan? Indian Hill? Professor Strange?”

He looked away, now staring at the empty booth opposite of them. He remembered Indian Hill all too well, the monsters in the basement that had haunted his dreams for months. But Lee wasn’t finished yet.

“His little creations roaming the city? The fucking Tetch Virus? Jerome Valeska and his little ‘league of horribles’? Didn’t he leave Oswald on a blimp to die only a few weeks ago? And now his brother is running around town, planting bombs and calling himself ‘The Joker’?” She had gotten louder during her speech, her voice almost cracking. “This town isn’t suited to people like you and Oswald anymore. Take Martin and leave before it’s too late.”

Ed looked back at her. She had sat up straight again, both of her hands on the table, staring at him with pleading eyes.

“But it’s suited to people like you?”, he asked quietly and her eyebrows shot up.

“What?”, she said, utterly confused.

“Well, you just said that this town isn’t suited to people ‘like me and Oswald’. Certainly, it isn’t suited to you as well then.”, he answered, smirking slightly about her confusion.

Lee struggled to find an answer, anxiously glancing out of the window.

“Explain to me again,”, he continued, propping himself up on his hands. “Why exactly do you want us gone so badly?”

Lee inhaled sharply, turning towards him again.

“What are you implying.”, she said, slamming her hands down on the table. “I am your _friend_ , Ed. I’m concerned about your safety.”

He tilted his head, rubbing his chin with one hand.

“Since when exactly are we friends again?”, he asked as if the question had just occurred to him. Lee opened her mouth slightly, eyes frantically glancing around the diner.

“We’ve always been friends.”, she said, clearly irritated by his behaviour. Ed smirked and sat up straight again.

“Oh have we?”, he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Because I clearly remember you saying that I was responsible for the _worst time in your life_. I framed Jim Gordon, remember?”

Lee furrowed her brows, her expression rapidly changing between annoyance and confusion.

“I never-“, she stuttered, inhaled and started again. “I never said that!”

Ed rolled his eyes.

“Is this really the time for nit-picking, Lee? I admit, you never used those exact words, but it’s what you thought.”, he retorted, watching with amusement how she pressed her lips into a tight line.

“It doesn’t matter what I thought.”, she snapped. “You’re not that person anymore.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, am I not?”, he asked. Lee avoided meeting his eyes, instead glancing down at her empty cup.

“No.”, she finally responded. “That was- that was him.”

“You mean the Riddler.”, he stated and she nodded, still avoiding his gaze, now staring blankly at the menu above the counter.

“But I _am_ the Riddler, Lee. I’ve always been him.”, he said, and her face twitched in anger.

“You were a good person once.”, she muttered and he laughed dryly.

“Yes, and I was _miserable_. I had no friends, everyone called me weirdo and made fun of me. I hated it. I was just too anxious to do anything about it. All of that changed with Kristen.”, he told her, Lee cringing when she heard the woman’s name.

“That’s not true. We were friends before that crap happened. You were happy with her, weren’t you?”, she asked, her tone pleading, like she was trying to convince him that she was right. “Remember that double date? You were happy that evening, and you weren’t the Riddler back then.”

“I had already killed Officer Dougherty at that point. Everyone always seems to forget that.”, he said, inspecting his fingernails. Lee flinched back and he fixed her with his eyes again.

“I was already becoming my true self. I just didn’t want to admit it.”, he said and she stared down at the table, her hands trembling slightly. She took a deep breath, flattening her hands on the table and looked up at him, her eyes suddenly hard again.

“What other reason is there then?”, she asked, changing the topic again. “Why would I want you and Oswald gone?”

“Oh, I can think of something.”, he responded, leaning back in his chair, waiting for her reacting. She only pursed her lips and leaned back herself.

“And what would that be?”, she asked, her tone disinterested, but Ed could see that her eyes were still darting around the diner.

“The Narrows aren’t enough for you.”, he answered and her brows disappeared underneath her bangs, her façade of disinterest falling apart in an instant.

“What?”, she gasped. “That’s insane!”

“You keep saying that.”, he responded, a small sigh escaping his lips. “But think about it. We both know that Gotham _needs_ someone to rule it. If Oswald and I aren’t around, who will? Barbara Kean? Or maybe one of the capos? Unlikely. Barbara is way too erratic and the capos hate each other too much, they would only tear each other apart. But you? You already have the Narrows under your control and the people there love you, they would gladly fight by your side to take over the whole city.”

Lee didn’t answer, her lips parted, staring at him with an incredulous expression.

“You already are the Queen of the Narrows.”, he continued. “Being Queen of Gotham would be the next logical step.”

She licked her lips, shaking her head.

“I’m only trying to help you.”, she yelled. “I don’t _want_ to see this town destroy you. Or Oswald.”

She waved Ella off, who was making her way towards the table, presumably to ask if everything was alright.

“I have trouble believing that.”, Ed responded. Lee despised Oswald, it had been obvious when they met at Ed’s old apartment.

“You’re being paranoid.”, Lee claimed, quieter than before. Her eyes begged him to believe her.

“I’m being _cautious_.”, he corrected. It looked like she wanted to respond, but then she just closed her eyes for a few seconds, rubbing her face with one hand. When she looked at him again her gaze was cold.

“Fine.”, she snapped, every little bit of sympathy drained from her voice. “Stay and rule this town with Oswald. Stay, and watch as it tears him and everything else you love apart. Watch it destroy your little family. _But don’t come running to me when it does.”_

Ed sighed, pulling his gloves out of his pocket.

“I had thought this would be nice.”, he said. “Apparently I misjudged you.”

“Yeah apparently.”, she repeated, crossing her arms in front of her. Ed slid on his gloves and stood up.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to pick up Martin from school.”, he told her, forcing a smile on his face. She smiled back.

“Goodbye, Riddler.”, she said, spitting out the name. Ed didn’t let his smile falter, turned on his heel and walked towards the door.

“Enjoy it while it lasts!”, she called after him and he fought the urge to turn around again.

The bell above the door chimed when he pushed it open to step onto the street.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long to write, holy shit. The first draft was also quite horrible, but I'm happy how this turned out in the end.  
> I hope you enjoyed it too.
> 
> There will also be a bit more actual plot in the next few chapters


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that this chapter took so long, I had a lot of stuff on my mind the last week and didn't have much time for writing and editing

Martin opened the passenger of Ed’s car and slid into the passenger seat, throwing his schoolbag onto the backseat. Ed looked over at him and smiled.

“How was school?”, he asked. Martin shrugged, fastening his seat belt.

‘ _Fine’_ , he signed. Ed had started teaching him sign language to make communication easier for him. Martin was a quick learner, it hadn’t taken him long to get a better grasp on it than Ed himself. He was the one teaching Ed most of the time, using videos to learn new signs by himself.

“Did you learn anything new?”, Ed asked and Martin shook his head.

 _‘Nothing I didn’t already know.”_ , he replied, smiling smugly. It was his usual comment. The last time Ed had met with his teacher she had told him that he was incredibly bright student and that she always had to give him extra work to keep him occupied.

“It would be easier if he talked, that way he could help the other students.”, she had told him, to which he had replied that maybe the other children just needed to learn sign language. After this they had agreed that she would continue to give him extra work and also encourage the other kids to ask him for help.

“Maybe if you stopped reading the textbooks ahead it wouldn’t be as boring.”, Ed suggested and Martin shrugged. He signed something, but when he noticed Ed’s confused frown, he took out his notepad, quickly wrote something down and showed it to Ed.

_It’s not boring. The others sometimes ask me for help._

Ed grinned.

“It’s nice of you to help them.”, he said. “As long as they don’t distract you from your own work.”

Martin shook his head.

 _‘They don’t’_ , he answered and smiled. He stared out of the window for a moment, watching the rest of the students standing around, either waiting for the bus or their parents. He turned towards him again.

 _‘Can we get ice cream?’_ , he asked, eyes pleading. It had been one of the first questions he had learned to ask. Ed sighed.

“Lunch will be ready when we get home.”, he replied, turning the key and starting the car. Martin tugged at his sleeve to get his attention again.

 _‘Please?’_ , he begged, pouting slightly.

“Oswald will notice. You know he doesn’t want you to eat dessert before lunch.”, he responded.

 _‘He doesn’t have to know.’_ , Martin signed, folding his hands together pleadingly.

“He _will_ notice.”, Ed answered. Martin’s expression didn’t change. Ed stared at him for a while before sighing heavily.

“Okay, let’s make a compromise.”, he proposed. “We buy ice cream for you, me _and_ Oswald and take it home so we can eat it after lunch.”

Martin beamed at him.

_‘Thank you, Ed’_

“Yeah, yeah.”, he muttered, pulling into the street. It was just too hard to say no to Martin. Ed used to never understand people who said that children could be irresistible, but that was before he had adopted Martin. The boy had _mastered_ the skill of begging, even without being able to use his voice. It didn’t help that his expression was so similar to Oswald’s when he wanted something. It was scary how similar the two looked even though they weren’t related. Every time he saw them together he was surprised that Oswald _wasn’t_ Martin’s biological father.

They got ice cream from their favourite parlour downtown, mint-chocolate-chip for Ed and Martin and dark chocolate and cherry for Oswald. They also bought a small cooler to keep it frozen on their way back home.

When they arrived at the city apartment they had rented about a month ago, lunch was already on the table in the dining room, but Oswald was nowhere to be seen. Usually he was waiting for them and not seeing him at the table immediately filled Ed with worry. Lee’s words from earlier echoed through his mind.

“Stay here.”, he murmured to Martin, pulling out his gun and slowly making his way to the kitchen door. The room was empty, a post-it note in their cook Lydia’s neat handwriting lying on the counter.

_Went out to buy groceries. Will be back in time for dinner._

He left the kitchen again, slowly making his way through the dining room. He peered inside the living room, which also appeared empty. After quickly checking the whole room he crept towards the bedroom door. He pulled it open carefully, checked if someone was there and closed the door again after making sure that no one was hiding underneath the bed or in one of the dark corners of the room. Martin’s room and the bathroom were also empty.

The last room he checked was the office, where he found Oswald hunched over a stack of papers, his eyes frantically flying over the page.

Relief flooded Ed and he sighed, putting his gun in the holster again.

“Put the ice cream in the freezer, Martin. We’ll be there immediately.”, he shouted, startling Oswald who jerked back, is widened in shock.

“You’re home already?”, he stuttered, his eyes jerking towards the clock on the wall.

“How long have you been sitting here?”, Ed asked, stepping over the threshold of the door and carefully pulling it closed behind him.

Oswald shrugged. He looked dishevelled, his hair sticking up in every direction like he had been carelessly running his hands through it, his tie hanging loosely around his neck. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his back before looking at Ed again.

“I don’t know.”, he admitted. “I lost track of time.”

Ed furrowed his brows in concern and stepped around the desk. He leaned against it, facing Oswald.

“Did you eat anything?”, he asked and Oswald shook his head slightly. Ed grew more concerned. “Did you at least drink something?”

Oswald only shrugged, running his hand through his hair again.

“This is really important.”, he said apologetically, gesturing towards the stack of papers.

“Eating and drinking is also really important.”, Ed disagreed, taking the papers off the table.

“What is this anyways?”, he wanted to know and Oswald sighed, leaning back in his office chair.

“Personnel files on some of Sofia’s old capos.”, he told him. “I’m trying to figure out how to get them on my side again. I need them to be loyal to me, so they don’t try to avenge her. But some of them are absurdly loyal to her, to her family. I just can’t figure out what to do about them.”

He rubbed his temples, eyes closed. Ed shuffled through the papers. Some of them had photos on them, but most of them were full of text, various bits of information, some of them collected by Oswald’s spies, but some of them also collected by Fish Mooney or Maroni. Ed had no idea how Oswald had gotten his hands on those files.

“Oswald.”, he said, gently tilting his chin up with one hand to make him look at him. Oswald reluctantly opened his eyes again.

“Remember what I told you about the Gordian knot?”, Ed asked, carelessly throwing the papers back onto the table, scattering them across the surface. “Sometimes you don’t need to solve a problem, you just need to _cut it in half_.”

Oswald rolled his eyes.

“We _can’t_ just kill them.”, he answered, exasperated. “If we kill only one of them, the others will see it as a threat. If they were to join forces against us we most likely won’t be able to defeat them. We don’t have enough manpower.”

“Just leave it to me.”, Ed suggested, smirking slightly. “I’ll make it look like someone else did it.”

Oswald frowned.

“You know I can do it.”, Ed said, leaning down and grabbing Oswald’s upper arm. “I can even make it look like one of them killed the others.”

Sighing, Oswald grabbed his hand, taking it off his arm but holding onto it. He closed his eyes for a moment, before he opened them again and smiled at Ed.

“Okay.”, he agreed quietly and a bright grin spread across Ed’s face.

“Come on, Martin’s waiting for us. We brought ice cream.”, he said, tugging at Oswald’s hand. He stood up, still smiling. He reached and gently stroked Ed’s cheek.

“What would I do without you?”, he asked, his tone only the slightest bit mocking. Ed pressed a soft kiss against his hand.

“You would do just fine.”, he admitted. “You’d probably just take a bit longer with everything.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up.”, Oswald huffed. He leaned in closer and kissed him. Ed’s heart fluttered in his chest. It still started racing every time Oswald kissed him, or gently touched his face, or he whispered ‘I love you’ before falling asleep at night. He wondered if it would ever stop. He didn’t know if he wanted it to.

Oswald slung his hands around his waist, stepping closer, pressing Ed’s leg into the table. Ed buried his hands in his dark hair, dishevelling it even more. He felt a hand tugging at his suit jacket.

“Martin’s waiting.”, he mumbled into Oswald’s lips, reluctantly loosing his grip on him slightly. He could hear Oswald sigh, but he let him go, taking a step back.

“You said there would be ice cream?”, he asked, running his hand through his hair to fix it. Ed stood up, readjusted his jacket and nodded. He absently fixed Oswald’s tie too.

“Let’s go then.”, Oswald said, picking up his cane and walking towards the door. Ed took another deep breath, straightened his jacket again and followed him, his heart still pounding in his chest.

***

“How was your meeting with Lee?”, Oswald asked, putting a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in his mouth. Ed felt his insides turn to ice, tensing slightly.

“Oh, it was fine.”, he said dismissively, avoiding Oswald’s eyes. Instead he turned towards Martin, who was happily digging at his ice cream.

“Martin, what do the poor have, the rich need and if you eat it you die?”, he asked, trying to change the topic again. Lee’s words still coursed through his mind and he had no intention of sharing them with Oswald. It would only aggravate him further and he had too much on his mind already. Ed would deal with Lee should she make a move, but right now he was content with just ignoring her.

‘ _Nothing’_ , Martin signed the answer to his riddle, spoon still in hand. _‘You already told me that one yesterday.’_

“Oh, did I?”, Ed responded, trying to laugh it off. Oswald shot him a concerned glance and he tried his best to ignore it. He knew that he wasn’t behaving like himself, but there was nothing he could do about it. Lee words had made him more anxious than he liked to admit.

‘ _I’ve got a riddle for you.’_ , Martin announce, interrupting Ed’s train of thought and thankfully averting Oswald’s attention. Ed raised an eyebrow.

 _‘The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?’,_ he asked. Ed frowned, a small smile tugging at his face when he found the answer.

“Footsteps. I didn’t know that one.”, he said and Martin nodded and smiled at him.

“Well done, Martin.”, Oswald praised with a fond smile. Martin’s smile brightened. He dug into his ice cream and Ed followed suit, pushing the bad thoughts Lee had planted in his mind away.

Martin went to his room to read after lunch and Ed and Oswald went to the living room for Oswald’s daily ASL lesson. Martin might have been able to learn the language by himself, but Oswald needed someone to teach him.

Ed tried his best, patiently explaining the different signs to Oswald. He wasn’t dumb he just had trouble remembering the right signs or the order in which they were used. Usually the lessons went quite smoothly, but this time Oswald was absent, not paying attention when Ed showed him how to move his hands correctly or when he asked him what a sign meant.

“Oswald.”, Ed said, taking his hands down. They were sitting on the couch, facing each other. Oswald was staring blankly at the wall behind him.

“Oswald.”, he repeated. Again, he didn’t get a response, it seemed like he hadn’t even heard him.

“Oswald.”, he exclaimed, waving his hand in front of his face. Oswald blinked a few times, before fixing his eyes on him.

“What?”, he snapped, audibly annoyed. Ed tilted his head slightly.

“You’re not paying attention.”, he stated dryly and Oswald huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I’m just tired.”, he defended himself. Ed leaned forwards, gently unfolding Oswald’s arms again, holding his hands between his own.

“Stop worrying about Sofia’s capos.”, he said firmly.

“I’m not wor-“

“You are.”, Ed interrupted him. “Even though I don’t really understand what exactly you are worried about.”

Oswald stared at him for a moment, before he sighed and relaxed back into the couch.

“What if your plan doesn’t work?”, he whispered. Ed had briefly told him his plan when they first sat down after lunch.

“It’s a _flawless_ plan. I kill one of Rachmaninoff’s men and make it look like it was one of Ligeti’s.”, he explained. “Ligeto won’t ask questions and will revenge his man. Which will Rachmaninoff to kill one of Ligeti’s men again. At that point they won’t care who started the whole ordeal. They will keep revenging their men until one of them tries to kill the other.

Oswald huffed and rolled his eyes, but Ed spoke up again before he could say anything.

“At that point, _we_ swoop in, offer protection for him and his men and voila, one of Sofia’s most powerful capos is now loyal to you, which will cause the other to also come running to you.

“And what if it doesn’t work? What if they _do_ ask questions? What if one of the other capos makes a grab for power while Rachmaninoff and Ligeti go to war with each other?”, he yelled, blue eyes fixed on Ed.

“They won’t”, he said calmly. “You told me yourself that Ligeti has a bad temper. He certainly won’t ask questions. And Rachmaninoff won’t when they killed one of his men.” He grabbed Oswald’s face to keep his attention. “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

Oswald stared at him, his eyes twitching. Finally, he sighed, closing his eyes.

“I know. I’m just worried about Martin, that’s all. I don’t want someone to harm him.”, he admitted quietly. Ed smiled, softly stroking his cheek with one hand.

“Me too.”, he said. “And that’s why I’ll make sure everything goes perfectly.”

Oswald opened his eyes again and smiled. It was tight-lipped, but at least there was no more doubt in his eyes. Ed let go of his face, leaning back into the couch.

“Now, let’s get back to your lesson.”, he said and Oswald said heavily, but gestured for him to proceed. Ed signed and Oswald frowned.

“Kiss me?”, he answered after a moment of consideration and Ed grinned.

“With pleasure.”, he responded and leaned in, meeting Oswald’s lips halfway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this might be a bit fluffy, but I wanted to write something more domestic before the next chapters.  
> Oh yeah, warning, the next chapters will be a lot more angsty than the previous ones #
> 
> anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed this chapter


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: this chapter is a bit more violent than the previous ones

“Do you really think he’ll be fine?”, Oswald asked as he opened the passenger door of Ed’s car. He rolled his eyes in response, walking around the vehicle and opening the door on the other side.

“He’s ten years old and smarter than most adults I’ve met.”, Ed said reassuringly, sliding into his seat. Reluctantly, Oswald climbed into the passenger seat and Ed smiled at him.

“Relax, Oswald. We’re only going out for dinner.”, he said, patting his knee slightly, before starting the car and pulling into the street. Oswald sighed and leaned back into his seat.

“I know.”, he muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I’m just… on _edge._ ”

“Which is why we’re going out on a date tonight, so you have something else to think about for a few hours.”, Ed responded and he saw a slight smile tugging at Oswald’s lips when he glanced over at him.

The last few weeks had been stressful, even though Ed’s plan to get the capos’ loyalty worked perfectly. It had taken a bit more persuasion than anticipated to get _all_ of them to join Oswald, but the last one of them had pledged loyalty to him just yesterday. The only potential threat left in the city was Lee, but she had assured them that she wouldn’t try to overthrow Oswald’s rule as long as he left her in charge of the Narrows and didn’t interfere with her work there. Ed had been suspicious about her intentions, but Oswald had surprisingly agreed to her conditions immediately. He had told him afterwards that the Narrows weren’t worth the trouble.

“Thank you.”, Oswald mumbled, looking out of the window, his pale face illuminated by the lights of the city. Ed hummed slightly in response, concentrating on the road.

Their dinner was pleasant, the food excellent and the wine even better, according to Oswald. He had stopped looking at his phone every five minutes after the first glass and turned his full attention to Ed, who loved being the centre of his attention for the first time in weeks. A small part of him had feared that they wouldn’t have anything to talk about, but he was quickly proven wrong. They talked about art, about music, about Oswald’s mother, about Martin’s progress in school. It reminded them of their shared evenings at the mansion, sitting in front of the old fireplace in the lounge with a glass of wine.

They left much later than planned, it was almost midnight when they finally left the restaurant again.

“We really need a driver.”, Oswald mumbled when he slid into the passenger seat.

“I’m a good driver.”, Ed answered, raising an eyebrow.

“I know.”, Oswald said and smirked at him. “But it’s a shame you couldn’t taste the wine.”

Ed rolled his eyes at him before sliding into the driver’s seat.

***

He knew something was wrong the moment he stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind them. Unable to put his finger on what exactly it was he turned to Oswald, who tensed beside him, his hand slowly wandering towards his gun. He shot Ed a concerned glance, who unholstered his own gun. Oswald nodded slightly before limping into the dining room, gun in hand.

The apartment was dark, the sound of the TV in the living room echoing through the rooms, unnaturally loud. He followed Oswald into the lounge, hoping that Martin had just fallen asleep on the couch. One quick glance revealed that the couch was empty and Ed felt his heart picking up pace. Martin didn’t seem like the kid that left the TV running. He usually didn’t even watch TV. Oswald hurried over towards Martin’s room, pulling the wooden door open.

“He’s not in there.”, he hissed and Ed’s insides turned to ice. He stared at Oswald, who stared back at him, his brows furrowed in concern.

Suddenly the sound of the fridge being pushed closed echoed through the apartment. Oswald’s head snapped around, he cocked his gun again and crept towards the doorway, a cold look on his face. Ed followed him, ready to shoot. Oswald nodded towards the open doorway to the kitchen.

“I’ll cover you.”, Ed whispered, gesturing towards the kitchen with his gun. Oswald nodded once before making a sharp turn and storming into the kitchen. Ed stayed closely behind him, his finger on the trigger, ready to kill anyone that attempted to attack Oswald.

Two men were standing there, weakly illuminated by the moonlight falling through the window. One of them was standing in front of the fridge, a sandwich in hand. He dropped it as soon as he saw them coming into the kitchen. 

He was dead before he had even made an attempt to reach for his gun, two shots ringing out at the same time. Ed’s bullet had hit him in the chest, Oswald’s in the head.

The other man whirled around, pulling Martin close to him, ducking behind him for cover, one hand on his mouth to prevent him from screaming. He was holding a knife to his throat with the other. Martin looked terrified, his eyes wide in shock.

“Let him go.”, Oswald growled, his eyes filled with fury. Ed could feel his own anger bubbling inside of him.

The man shook his head, staying behind Martin, effectively preventing Ed from taking a clean shot at him. There was no way of hitting him without hitting Martin too.

“Drop your weapons.”, the man commanded. Ed didn’t recognise his voice. Oswald growled, keeping his gun aimed in the intruder’s direction.

“ _Let him go.”_ , he responded, voice low. Ed had argued with him enough times to know that Oswald wasn’t just _angry_ , he was absolutely furious.

“Only if you drop your weapons. I’ll put the knife down.”, the intruder answered, his voice trembling. Apparently, things weren’t going as he had planned. He took the knife off of Martin’s throat, lowering his arm but not dropping the blade. His knuckles were white, clinging to the handle.

Slowly, not taking his eyes off him Oswald took down his gun, bending down and putting it on the floor. Ed followed suit. The man gestured towards a corner of the room and Oswald kicked his gun, sending it sliding into the darkness. Reluctantly, Ed followed his example.

“Now let him go.”, Oswald demanded. The man stood up straight again but kept his hand pressed against Martin’s mouth. Ed also didn’t recognise his face, maybe someone had hired him to kill them. The guy shook his head slightly, pulling Martin even closer to him.

“The boy will show me the door.”, he said, pushing Martin forward. Ed glanced over at Oswald who stayed still, lips pressed into a tight line, fists clenched at his side. He looked ready to lunge at the man at any moment. He probably would have already, if the man hadn’t kept his knife.

He shuffled forward awkwardly, pushing Martin with him, keeping him between Oswald and him. Ed saw Martin slowly reaching for his pocket, his eyes frantically glancing back and forth like he was trying to tell him something.

A split second later, all hell broke loose.

Martin must have bitten his captor in the hand, because the man suddenly screamed and let go of him for a second. Martin staggered forward, but the man caught his shoulder again.

“You little-“, he yelled, but was interrupted when Martin blindly stabbed backwards, the moonlight reflecting off the blade of the small kitchen knife in his hand. He must have somehow hid it in his pocket. The man screamed with pain, staggering back, one hand pressed against his leg. Martin tried to get away from him, but he lunged after him.

Ed’s heart skipped a beat when he saw him plunging his knife into Martin’s side. A high-pitched scream rang in his ears. He barely had time to react before he saw Oswald move forward, a blurry shape in his peripheral vision.

Oswald caught the man by his throat, pushing him, the back of his head hitting the fridge. He slashed at Oswald. Once. Twice. Then Oswald caught his wrist, twisting it until the man screamed and dropped the knife. Oswald bashed his head against the fridge again, leaving a dent in the metal casing of the door.

He did it again.

And again.

There were ugly red smudges on the fridge now, and the man had stopped screaming. Oswald kept slamming his head against the fridge, his face contorted with anger, grunting every time the man’s skull cracked against the door.

Ed finally broke out of his stupor when he realised that Martin was still _screaming._ He dived forwards, falling to his knees next to him. The boy was pressing a hand against his side, his face twisted in pain.

“Oh god.”, Ed whispered when he saw the blood leaking into Martin’s shirt.

“Oswald.”, he yelled. The man’s head crashed against the fridge again. “Oswald!”

Oswald’s head snapped around, his eyes wide, pupils dilated. He let go of the man, the corpse hit the ground with a soft thud. Blood was splattered all over Oswald’s face.

When he saw Martin, he yelled, dropping to his knees next to him. He reached out, carefully pulling the boy closer to him, cradling him in his arms. He gently shoved Martin’s hands away, pressing his own against the wound in his side. Martin’s hands limply sled off his body, covered in dark blood. Ed stared at them blankly, unable to move.

“Call an ambulance!”, Oswald yelled, voice cracking.

“Huh?”, Ed made, head snapping up mechanically.

“ ** _Call an ambulance!”_** , Oswald screamed. Ed jerked back, scrambling to his feet. He hurried over to the phone hanging next to the doorway. He punched in the numbers, holding the receiver to his ear with a shaking hand.

“911, what’s your emergency?”, a calm, female voice asked him.

“My, my,” he stuttered and took a deep breath. “My son has been stabbed.”

“What?”, the woman asked, caught off guard.

“My son has been stabbed!”, he yelled and he could hear her startled gasp.

“Okay, can you give me your location?”, she said, her voice calm again. Ed gave her the address.

“I’ll send paramedics, they will be there shortly.”, she said. “Can you give me any information on your son’s injury? Where exactly was he stabbed?”

Ed glanced down at Martin, still cradled in Oswald’s arms, growing paler every second.

“Somewhere below the ribcage, I think.”, he stammered. It was hard to see exactly where the puncture was, Oswald’s hands were still pressed firmly into Martin’s side. Blood was seeping through them, the stain on Martin’s blue sweater growing larger and larger.

“You need to apply pressure to the wound.”, the woman told him slowly.

“We already are.”, he responded, voice shaking.

“Is there someone else with you?”, she wanted to know and he nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, his father.”, he said when he realised she couldn’t see him. Tears were stinging in his eyes, clouding his vision.  

“Good. Stay calm. Paramedics will be there any minute now.”, she reassured him. “Is anyone else hurt?”

Ed glanced around the room, saw the two corpses lying next to the fridge. His stomach turned when he saw the man that had stabbed Martin. He was facing away from him, exposing his cracked skull. The thought that it might have been smarter to leave him alive to question him, dimly crossed his mind. He looked over at Oswald, but he was unable to tell if some of the blood on his shirt was his own or if all of it was someone else’s.

“No.”, he finally whispered into the phone.

“Good. The paramedics should be arriving in a moment. Be ready to open the door for them. You can hang up now.”, the operator told him.

“Thank you.”, he mumbled before putting the receiver back into the holder. He turned towards Oswald again who stared at him wide-eyed, pressing Martin’s limp body against his chest.

“Ambulance is on its way.”, Ed told him, the words almost getting caught in his throat. He couldn’t tear his eyes off of the blood leaking through Oswald’s pale hands, and the growing pool of blood on the kitchen floor.

The sound of the doorbell startled him, he whirled around and rushed towards the door, ripping it open. Two paramedics were standing in front of him, a stretcher between them.

“The kitchen.”, he stammered, pointing towards the door. One of them hurried past him, his partner followed with the stretcher. Ed left the door open and followed them, pushing past the two men and entering the kitchen first.

The first paramedic stopped dead in his tracks when he stepped into the room, his partner bumping into him.

“What the fuck?”, the first man yelled, his eyes fixed on the man with the cracked skull. His partner pulled out a phone.

“We need police on the scene, immediately.”, he muttered into the phone, shooting Ed a concerned glance, like he was afraid that he would try to take it from to prevent him from alerting the GCPD.

“They’re dead.”, Oswald snapped, attracting the paramedic’s attention. “ _Martin isn’t!”_

Ed saw the man take a deep breath, before he started moving again, kneeling down next to Martin, carefully lifting Oswald’s hands off his body. Oswald shuffled backwards, slowly getting to his feet as the paramedic’s examined Martin. One of them forced his eye open, shining a small torch in it, while the other started bandaging his side. They were muttering but Ed couldn’t understand a word, the blood rushing in his ears drowning out every other sound.

He watched as the paramedics carefully lifted Martin onto the stretcher, one of them putting an oxygen mask on his face, before they started pushing the stretcher out of the kitchen.

Oswald followed them, grabbing Ed’s arm.

“Move.”, he snapped, his fingers painfully digging into Ed’s upper arm. He took a shaky breath before staggering along, following the paramedics out of the door. They hurried into the elevator, and then out into the entrance hall of the apartment building. Ed could see the ambulance through the big glass windows covering the front of the hall.

When they stepped onto the street he could hear sirens wailing in the distance. The paramedic lifted the stretcher into the ambulance. One of them jumped out again and hurried around the vehicle.

“One of you should stay back to report to the police.”, he suggested, nervously glancing at them.  

“No.”, Oswald growled, dragging Ed towards the hatch of the ambulance. The paramedic gulped, obviously too terrified to argue with Oswald. Once they were both inside the man closed the hatch behind them and the van started moving immediately. Ed almost fell but was able to steady himself on the handrails of the hatch.

The paramedic started treating Martin again, only averting his attention to hand Oswald a piece of cloth, who frantically wiped his face, smudging the blood around.

His gaze was fixed on Martin, the fresh bandage around his waist turning red with an alarming speed. He turned towards Ed, blue eyes filled to the brim with tears. He reached out and grabbed Ed’s hand, his own sticky with Martin’s blood.

 _“This town is going to eat both you and Oswald alive. And Martin as well, if you’re not careful.”,_ Lee’s words echoed through Ed’s mind and he couldn’t keep the sob from escaping his lips. He couldn’t shake the feeling that all of this was _his_ fault. If he had listened to Lee’s advice none of this would have happened.

He squeezed Oswald’s hand and wondered if the man would ever forgive him for _this._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeahh.... sorry. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. and don't worry, it's not the end. (also, hurray for season 5 of gotham btw.)


	11. Chapter 11

They rushed inside the hospital, Oswald struggling to keep up with the paramedics, stumbling over his leg and almost falling. Ed caught him, dragging him along, his finger painfully digging into his arm. Oswald didn’t care. The only thing on his mind was getting Martin into the operation theatre as fast as possible. 

One of the paramedics pushed open a double door and they hurried into a brightly-lit hallway, more people rushing to their side. They were shouting things and giving order, but Oswald couldn’t focus on anything that was said. Martin looked so pale, the oxygen mask covering his face almost entirely. One of his hands was hanging limply of the side of the stretcher, dried blood smeared all over it, seeping into the hem of his blue sweater.

“Sir, you need to stay back now.”, a nurse yelled, interrupting his train of thought. A hand grabbed his jacket, holding him back. He whirled around, angrily staring at the woman. 

“I need to stay with him!”, he shouted and tried to shake her off, pushing towards the double door but she yanked him back. 

“You _ cannot _ go in there. You need to wait outside.”, she said firmly. Her expression softened. “I’m sorry, sir.” 

He wanted to argue, wanted to scream at her, wanted to shove her away, but Ed gently laid a hand on his shoulder. 

“Oswald.”, he croaked. He turned around to face him and saw his own concern mirrored in Ed’s face. His dark eyes were filled with tears, his lips trembling slightly. Oswald had never seen him this heartbroken. Not after learning of Isabella’s death, not even after finding out that Oswald had been responsible for it. 

Reluctantly, he took a step back from the door. The nurse led them over to a small bench at one side of the hallway. He sat down, his legs trembling. 

“Tell me if there is anything I can do for you.”, the woman said quietly, smiling empathetically. Oswald shook his head, staring at the white tile beneath his feet. She lingered a bit longer before she walked to a nearby desk. A moment later he could hear paper shuffling. 

He glanced over at Ed, slumped together next to him, his head hanging between his knees. Stifled sobs were escaping his throat. Oswald laid a trembling hand on his back, only now realising that they were still coated in blood, leaving ugly red smudged as he slowly started rubbing Ed’s back. Ed shuddered, grabbing his other hand firmly, painfully squeezing his fingers together. He didn’t complain, just held on to him, squeezing back just as hard. 

Oswald couldn’t tell how much time had passed since they arrived, if it had been only minutes or hours already when the nurse came back, a wet towel in hand. 

“Sir, do you maybe want to clean yourself up a bit?”, she asked, offering him the towel. He looked up at her and nodded quickly, letting go of Ed’s hand to take the piece of cloth from her. She smiled and walked over to her desk again. 

He wiped his face with the towel, the blood staining it red. When he was done with is face he tried wiping the blood off his hands as best as he could. He got most of it off, but his hands were still tinted slightly red. He neatly folded the towel again before rising from his seat. Ed raised his head, glancing at him for a second before putting his head in his hands again. 

Oswald limped over to the desk and handed the bloody towel to the nurse who smiled thankfully and threw it into a laundry bin. She looked at him.

“Is there anything else you need? A coffee or a sandwich maybe?”, she asked. He held his hands up dismissively. 

“No, thank you.”, he croaked. The mere thought of food made him nauseous. The woman nodded and he was about to turn around and walk over to his seat again when she narrowed her eyes. 

“Sir, can I take a look at your arm for a moment?”, she asked and pointed at his left arm, putting on rubber gloves. 

“What?”, he asked, taken aback by her question. 

“I think you’re injured.”, she responded, furrowing her brows in concern. He frowned but turned slightly, extending his arm over the desk. He watched her as she leaned forward, carefully tugging at his suit jacket to reveal a cut on his upper arm. He inhaled sharply through his teeth when she carefully prodded at the wound. 

“I didn’t notice.”, he mumbled. “It doesn’t even hurt.” 

“Don’t worry. You’re most likely still in shock.”, she assured him. She looked up at him again, her face stern. “It’s not that deep, but I’ll have to clean it and stitch it up anyways.”

Oswald jerked his arm back, startling her. 

“I’m not leaving.”, he stated firmly, protectively holding his arm to his chest. He looked over at Ed, who was still sitting on the bench at the other side of the corridor. He had straightened a bit, now staring at the double doors leading towards the operating theatre, fiddling with his tie. 

“He will be in surgery for another few hours.”, the nurse explained calmly. 

“It can wait.”, he growled, shooting her an angry glance. She didn’t seem impressed.

“I’m afraid it can’t.”, she answered, stepping around the desk. “It will only take a few minutes.” 

He shook his head vigorously and she sighed. 

“Sir, you either let me clean this now or you’ll risk an infection.”, she told him, carefully putting a hand on his arm again. “The room is just down the hallway, I only need you to sit down for a few minutes.” 

He stared at her for a moment before sighing heavily and nodding. She smiled thankfully and led him into a small room at the end of the hallway and motioned for him to sit down on a stretcher. 

“I’ll leave the door open.”, she said, taking a bottle of disinfectant from a shelf on the wall. “Now please take off your jacket and shirt so I can clean the cut properly.” 

Oswald took off his dark purple suit jacket and unbuttoned the white shirt he had been wearing underneath it after untying his tie. Some of the blood had soaked through the jacket, staining the shirt underneath. Under different circumstances he would have been annoyed, especially as it had been a new suit and shirt, but in this situation, he couldn’t care less about one ruined suit. 

He winced as the nurse started dabbing disinfectant around the wound, getting to work quickly. She cleaned it thoroughly, wiping the blood away from his skin with swift motions.

“I don’t think it will take more than five or six stitches.”, she told him, putting on a new pair of gloves. She opened a cabinet and took out a small box. She opened it, took out a needle wrapped in plastic and tore it open. She looked at him and he nodded for her to proceed. 

He almost didn’t feel the needle pricking through his skin. He watched as the nurse worked, biting her lip in concentration. When she was done she cut the thread before tying the loose end so it wouldn’t unravel. 

“Done.”, she said with a smile. “You should be able to remove the stitches in about two weeks.” 

Oswald nodded and put his shirt back on. He didn’t bother putting on the blood-stained jacket again, instead folding it awkwardly over his arm. 

“You can go back to your…”, she hesitated for a moment, glancing at Ed through the open door. “Partner again.” 

He nodded and limped past her and into the hallway. Ed looked up when he sat down next to him again. His eyes were swollen from crying. 

“What happened?”, he whispered, voice hoarse. Oswald shook his head dismissively. 

“Just a cut.”, he answered, taking Ed’s hand again. He nervously glanced at the double door, squeezing his hand. “It’s just a cut.” 

He felt tears dwelling in his eyes again and his lips started trembling. Sobbing, he buried his face in the crook of Ed’s neck, holding onto him with shaking hands.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I was drunk when I uploaded the last chapter so that's why there were no notes anywhere

Oswald was pacing. He had been for the last hour. He had cried into Ed’s shoulder for quite a while, Ed trying his best to calm him down even though the tears were streaking down his cheeks as well. When he had finally calmed down again he had stayed seated for another few minutes, before getting up, starting to slowly limp from one end of the hallway, where the door leading to the room where the nurse had treated him was, to the other end, where the double door was. Occasionally he stopped in front of the nurse’s desk, who had asked if she could do anything for him for the first few times but by now just looked up at him and smiled faintly. Sometimes, he sat down next to Ed for a few seconds, only to jump up again and resumed his walking.

It was slowly driving Ed insane, the sound of Oswald’s steps echoing through the hallway digging into his brain.

“Oswald.”, he muttered as the other man walked past him. He didn’t seem to notice, his pace steady as he walked the few feet left until he reached the double door.

“Oswald.”, Ed called out when he came back and Oswald glanced at him for a split-second, before fixing his gaze on the far end of the hallway again. He came back, limped past Ed again and turned sharply in front of the door. Ed sighed and stood up, stretching his back. His whole body was heavy, his back aching from sitting on the hospital bench for so long.

“Oswald.”, he said, blocking his way. Oswald huffed and stepped around him. Ed turned around.

“Oswald!”, he yelled, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back. Oswald staggered back before whirling around. He stared up at Ed, his brows furrowed angrily.

“What?”, he snapped, trying to shake Ed’s hand off his arm. Ed pressed his lips into a tight line, digging his fingers into Oswald’s arm.

“You’re driving me insane.”, he hissed, grabbing his other arm as well. “Stop. _Pacing_.”

Oswald grimaced and leaned closer.

“No!”, he snarled, shaking Ed’s hands off as he jerked back. Oswald stepped around him, resuming his way down the hallway. Ed sighed and turned around.

“It’s not helping anyone!”, he called after him. Oswald stopped dead in his tracks. He whirled around, glaring at him.

“Oh, but you sitting around not saying anything does?”, he shouted back, stepping closer again. “Since we’ve arrived you’ve barely spoken a word.”

“Well, what am I supposed to say?”, Ed roared and Oswald jerked back. “Martin has been _stabbed_! Nothing I say will change that!”

He clasped his hand in front of his mouth, desperately trying to keep the sob from escaping his lips. Oswald squinted at him for a moment before he lowered his head, studying the white tiles beneath their feet. His shoulders were shaking slightly, like he was trying to hold back sobs as well.

Both of them stayed like this for a while until Ed gulped, lowering his hands again and taking a step towards him.

“Look, Oswald, I – I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have –“, he stuttered but Oswald interrupted him by holding up a hand.

“It’s fine Ed.”, he murmured, eyes still downcast. “You’re right.” He nodded, rubbing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He looked up at Ed again, blue eyes filled with tears.

“What if – What if he dies?”, he choked out, drawing another shaky breath. Ed closed the gap between them, pulling Oswald into his arms, pressing his shaking frame to his chest tightly.

“He won’t.”, he whispered into Oswald’s ear, resting his chin on his shoulder. “He won’t.”

Sobs were trembling through Oswald as he held him, his face buried in Ed’s neck. He could feel hot tears seeping into the hem of his shirt.

“This is all my fault.”, Oswald sobbed, his voice muffled by Ed’s shirt. “I shouldn’t have tried to take over again.” He raised his head and looked up at Ed.

“I should have known. _I should have known!_ ”, he cried, voice cracking. “I _always_ fail. And now I’ve pulled you and Martin into this as well. I’m sorry. I’m so, _so_ sorry.”

He collapsed into Ed’s chest again, his hands grabbing at the lapels of his green suit jacket. Ed started rubbing his back gently, trying to get him to calm down again, trying not to break down himself. He closed his eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks.

_“It always ends the same.”,_ a voice in the back of his head whispered. It sounded suspiciously like Lee. _“He always fails.”_ He tried to push the thoughts away, tried to not think about what she had said just a few weeks ago, but he couldn’t help but admit that the woman had been right.

_“You should get out before it kills you.”_ , her advice echoed through his mind and his stomach turned.

“This is all _my_ fault.”, he whispered into Oswald’s hair. Oswald raised his head slightly, staring up at him.

“What?”, he croaked, his eyes filled with confusion. “How?”

“I should have listened to Lee.”, Ed explained, sobs beginning to shake his entire body. “I should have listened to her!”

“Ed, what are you talking about?”, Oswald asked, the confusion now written all over his face. He took a step backwards and Ed let go of him, burying his head in his hands. He was rubbing his eyes vigorously, almost pushing his glasses off his face.

“When I met up with her a few weeks ago.”, he began, taking his head out of his hands again. “She told me to leave Gotham. She knew something like this would happen.”

Oswald narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to the side slightly.

“How?”, he asked again, suspicion apparent in his voice.

“Common sense?”, Ed guessed, throwing his arms into the air. “I don’t know, she said something about this town getting crazier every day and not being suited for people like us anymore.”

He saw an angry wrinkle appear on Oswald’s forehead and started speaking again before he could open his mouth to argue.

“But that’s not the point.”, Ed said, staring at his feet. “The point is that I didn’t want to listen to her. I thought she was trying to threaten me, that she wanted to get rid of us to take over the town herself.”

He saw Oswald shuffling closer and a moment later he could feel his hands on his arms. He raised his head again to look at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”, he wanted to know. Ed shrugged, wiping his tears away.

“I didn’t want you stressing about her as well.”, he admitted after a moment of silence. “I’m sorry, Oswald. I should have told you right away.”

Oswald sighed and shook his head slightly.

“Don’t worry about it.”, he said quietly. “It wouldn’t have made a difference anyway.”

He gently pressed his hand against Ed’s cheek, wiping a few tears Ed had missed away with his thumb.

“This isn’t your fault, Ed.”, he whispered. Ed closed his eyes and exhaled, trying to just focus on Oswald’s touch for a moment. He opened his eyes again and grabbed his hand.

“It’s not yours either.”, he answered, staring at him intently. “Oswald, there’s nothing you could – “

“Mr Nygma?”, a male voice interrupted him. Ed snapped his head around, staring at the man standing in front of the double door. He was wearing a hairnet and had a breathing protection slung around his neck.

Ed stared at him, petrified and unable to say anything, too scared of what he might say. The doctor looked at him for a moment and then he smiled. Ed felt a wave of relief washing over him.

“He’ll make it.”, the doctor said and Ed’s need almost gave in as he pulled Oswald close to him, burying his head in his dark hair, tears of relief spilling from his eyes

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go!   
> This fic was only supposed to be 8 chapters long, so I kind of missed my goal there.   
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was a bit shorter than the others (like the last one as well)


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter guys!

Lee opened the door to her small one-room apartment with a groan. Her whole body was aching, her feet burning from standing in the clinic the whole afternoon and her back tense from hunching over her desk for hours afterwards. Her eyes burned from staring at columns of tiny numbers, trying to sort out the finances of both the clinic and the club. Being ‘Queen of the Narrows’ was rewarding of course, but at the end of the day all Lee wanted to do was to have a hot shower and fall into her bed afterwards. Especially when the ‘end of the day’ was at 3am in the morning.

“Hello Lee.”, a voice came from the darkness just as she was about to hit the light switch. She screamed, pulling out her gun with one hand while also flicking the light switch, already aiming in the direction of the voice.

The small lightbulb above her flickered to life and to her relieve she saw Ed sitting on the edge of her bed. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, revealing a crinkled white shirt. His head was buried in his hands. “

“Ed!”, she yelled, lowering her gun again. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack? What the hell are you doing here?”

“You were right.”, he said quietly, looking up at her. His eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying previously. She closed the door behind her and took a careful step towards him.

“Right about what?”, she asked apprehensively.

“About Gotham. About leaving before it’s too late. You were right about the state of this town.”, he answered, avoiding her eyes.

“Did something happen to Oswald?”, she asked carefully, taking another small step towards the bed. Ed barked out a dry laugh and shook his head.

“Oh no, Oswald’s fine. Me too, you don’t have to worry.”, he answered, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Martin on the other hand…”

He trailed off, staring down at the dark wooden floor. Lee sat down next to him, gently laying a hand on his arm. He turned and looked at her.

“What happened?”, she whispered, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t know Martin, but she hated hearing about children being hurt.

Ed ran a hand through his hair and let out a shaky laugh.

“He’s alive.”, he answered and Lee sighed in relief. “He barely made it, but he _made_ it.”

“What happened?”, she repeated her question.

“He was stabbed.”, Ed responded and Lee tensed, her insides turning to ice. “Someone tried to kill us. Hitman most likely. At least we didn’t recognise them.”

Lee stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging open slightly, processing his words.

“That’s- That’s _horrible.”,_ she stuttered. “I’m…I’m so sorry.”

“Well, you _did_ predict it.”, he muttered quietly and she sighed again, rubbing her hand over her face.

“I know but I didn’t actually _believe_ something like this would happen. Not so soon anyways.”, she responded. “And you have no idea who hired them?”

Ed shook his head.

“We suspect it was one of the capos but we have no idea which one of them. The GCPD is investigating, but I highly doubt that they will figure it out.”, he said. Lee buried her head in her hands, still shocked by the revelation.

“So, what are you going to do now?”, she asked after a moment of silence. She raised her head out of her hands again and saw Ed shrug.

“I honestly don’t know.”, he said, voice trembling. “One the one hand I desperately want to leave, but on the other hand I – I don’t know if I can. If I want to.”

“I know the feeling.”, she answered and his eyes widened in surprise. “It’s this town. It’s horrible. It’s traumatizing. It hurts you. But, it still has its moments. Moments of hope, of happiness. You get addicted to it. You start to think ‘If I just stay _a bit longer_ everything will be alright’. It’s why I came back over and over again.”

She stared down on her hands, pressing them against her thighs to stop them from shaking. Ed didn’t answer, jus stayed seated besides her.

Suddenly he jumped up, crossing his hands in front of his chest, staring down at her.

“So what?”, he asked, tone accusing. “I’m just supposed to stay and watch as this town tears everything from me like _you_ said?”

“That’s _not_ what I said.”, she replied, trying her hardest to stay calm. Ed’s eyebrows shot up.

“Really? Because I recall you shouting it after me when I left the diner.”, he responded, glaring at her angrily. She huffed.

“Okay, yes I said _that_.”, she replied, rolling her eyes. “But that’s not what I was just talking about. I never said you _had_ to stay. Just that it’s going to be hard to leave if you choose to.”

He looked at her, his eyes frantically searching her face for an answer to the unspoken question standing between them.

“Look, Ed, I can’t make that choice for you.”, she said, standing up herself. “But you’ve managed to get past an addiction before.”

A smile tugged at his lips and he nodded. She smiled too and he pulled her into a tight hug. She tensed, but relaxed quickly, patting his back.

“Thank you, Lee. You’re a good friend.”, he mumbled, before separating from her again. He walked towards the door, hesitating for a second before reaching for the handle.

“Ed.”, Lee called after him and he turned around, one of his hands already clasped around the handle. “Send me a postcard.”

A bright grin spread across his face before he nodded quickly. Then he opened the door and vanished into the dark hallway.

Lee stared at the closed door for a moment before she sighed and trotted over to the small bathroom. She _really_ needed that hot shower.

***

It was all over the news a few weeks later.

_‘Penguin’ dies in horrible car crash._

_Gotham Kingpin killed by drunk driver._

Even the morning news reported it that day

_“Former Mayor Oswald Cobblepot , also known as ‘The Penguin’ died earlier today during a car crash involving a drunk driver. His former Chief of Staff Edward Nygma, infamous for last years attack on the Gotham Police Academy, and the 10-year-old Martin Nygma, adoptive son of Mr Nygma, were also involved. The police statement reads that both of them suffered fatal wounds as well.”_

Lee smiled as she turned her TV off, shaking her head.

“I wonder how they pulled that one of.”, she muttered to herself, rising from her office chair, stretching as she opened the door to the clinic. It was going to be another exhausting day.

***

The postcard arrived a few days later. It was generic, showing a cathedral of some sort. The sun was shining, the sky unbelievably blue. A message was printed underneath the picture in curvy letters

_Greetings from Marsala, Sicily_

Lee smiled, turning the card around.

 _‘No signs of withdrawal so far, Doc.’_ , it read, written in green ink and signed with a question mark. The address read _Lee Thompkins, Queen of the Narrows’_

She shook her head again, smiling to herself. She pinned the card to the board behind her and walked out of her office. The ‘Queen of the Narrows’ had a club _and_ a clinic to run after all.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so proud of myself that I actually finished this?? And it's the longest fanfiction I've ever written?? Probably one of the longest stories I've written in general??
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks so much for your support of this fic, I honestly didn't think this would get as many hits, kudos and comments as it did and that really kept me going.   
> So yeah, thank you all!!
> 
> PS: I'm working on another Gotham Fanfiction unrelated to this one, so keep an eye out for that :D

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native English speaker, so if you found any mistakes let me know.


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